Eros is His Name
by cosmic-divinity
Summary: With the hot spring falling on hard times, Yuuri gets a part time job. However, it ends up being an erotic dancer for a club under the stage name "Eros." He finds enjoyment in the power he gets from it, and a video of him gets Victor's attention. Credit for the idea goes to 404sanitymissing.
1. Chapter 1

His skin gleamed against the lights from above. Beads of sweat mingled with the glitter that clung to his skin. Right now, all eyes were on him, and that's exactly what he wanted. He could hear whistles and a few hoots here and there but many were too entranced in his performance. They merely watched as he gracefully wrapped his leg around the pole again. Yuuri always felt like he was some sort of enticing serpent, sending its victims into a trance with his movements. He almost felt bad for the other dancers in the room. As soon as Yuuri stepped in there and began to work the pole, he was almost guaranteed to have the attention of everyone in the room. He was already booked with the number of clients he wanted to take tonight. It was exhausting work, but he made bank doing it and why not keep doing something he enjoyed?

He licked his lips as he heard the tiniest of gasps from an onlooker during his performance. He hardly needed to work that hard for tips. Most of them just threw the money on the edge of the stage, and he'd pick it up afterward. He supposed many found his "hard to get" charms attractive. He'd move on from one to the other, never getting pinned down by any man. If anyone asked him what was so appealing to objectifying himself like this, Yuuri would say it was the power. His sexual appeal and arousing performances gave him a power over the onlookers and clients. The proof was right here. Some would throw away nearly all their money on that stage just for him. He was sure he could easily drive a man broke in less than a day just from dancing.

Yuuri ran his fingers through his slicked back hair, bowing slightly at a roar of applause once he finished. Sweat dripped from his chin and his chest heaved up and down as he made his way to his dressing room to catch his breath before heading out to mingle by the bar. He knew he was already guaranteed free drinks as he always was after performances like that, making sure to practically ooze sexual love to make it practically hang in the air. There was no doubt that there was a bunch of horny people out there right now. He reapplied some hair gel to keep his hair in its slicked back style. He dabbed away some sweat and smeared on some more glitter. Looking at himself in the mirror, he couldn't help but smirk.

 _It's amazing how much sexier I look without my glasses on. It's too bad I didn't figure that out until now._

All eyes were on him again when he reentered the main room. Nonchalantly, he took a seat at the end of the bar, crossing his legs and simply waiting for some attention. He had about an hour until he'd start with the private dances for his clients, so he intended to get some attention for the time being, an opportunity to make more money.

It was only a few minutes after he sat down that an older man was talking him up and buying him any fruity drink he wanted. Yuuri preferred the flavorful, fruity drinks over the hard ones. He sipped on a strawberry daquiri as he wore a bored expression, though he managed a little smile, and listened to how much the guy loved his performance and how enthralling he was. It was the usual kind of thing Yuuri heard from guys like this. If he had to choose, he wasn't his type, but he was on the clock currently and had to act nice with everyone.

Now that he had gotten so popular, his prices for lap dances and such had dramatically increased. He was thankful for it since now he got the higher end of clientele. Because of that, his costumes had gotten more elaborate. Tonight, he wore a black skin tight suit that was made of a see-through lace everywhere besides his crotch. It had a deep V neck line that stretched down to expose a bit of his chest. The lace created complex patterns against his skin and was made to accentuate his ass. While he was here, he went by the name "Eros."

Within that hour, he managed to give two lap dances, raking in the cash and always putting on his best performance. He relished looking back at them and watching the desire in their eyes. He knew how much they wanted to touch him but the rules when he was on the clock said otherwise. He couldn't help but smirk at how much they were fighting the urge. This was another part of the power he relished: how they could look but not touch.

Soon, he was heading off to the private room he used for the clients. He crossed his legs and sat in the red velvet chair, waiting for the client. He had whispered to the bouncer outside of the room beforehand to let the first client in.

It had been another busy day with the press for Victor. He had announced his upcoming retirement from competitive figure skating, and the world seemed to be in a frenzy. Every day now, it seemed there were conferences and interviews and such for him to go to. Now, he was in bed with his poodle Makkachin cuddled up by his side. He was lazily scrolling through YouTube, trying to find videos to distract him from this new stress. He was looking through new and recommended videos and was surprised to find what looked to be a video of an erotic dancer's performance on the pole. It wasn't the usual video he'd go for since watching pole dancers wasn't really his thing, but it was the name of the dancer that caught his eye: Eros. From the thumbnail, he looked to be rather attractive, so with a shrug, he clicked on it. It looked to be in Japan, Kyushu to be exact. The dancer's costume already had him interested. It was an interesting design, almost like something a figure skater would wear but with much less see through lace. A few minutes in, and Victor was already invested. His movements were so alluring and fluid. Eros was a fitting stage name. He practically oozed sex. To Victor, the way he moved wasn't like how most erotic dancers moved. His performance looked very professional, making Victor blush the whole time. When the video ended, he found himself thinking immensely about that dancer. Here, all the attention from the press was rather oppressive. Perhaps a trip or get away was a more fitting name, would be good for him. He could simply tell Yakov he needed a break from all this stress. He'd understand, or at least he'd act like he did. There was no need to mention going to see some erotic dancer he had just watched a video of. No need for that at all.

Yuuri stretched his arms, feeling comfortable in his street clothes as he walked down the sidewalk from the club and to the bus stop. He had to go a little ways out of his hometown of Hansetsu. He promised himself he wouldn't let his family find out about this job. For now, he had them believing he had gotten a job, just a regular old part time job. The hot springs hadn't been doing so well lately. A lot of the money he made went to helping with costs to keep the place open. The reason he gave when his mom asked him where the extra money came from was that he was taking more hours at the grocery store. It was easy to keep this a secret from his mother. His sister, on the other hand, was much more nosy and skeptical. He found that his stories had to get more and more creative with her. If worse came to worse, he could simply tell her the truth and beg her not to tell mom or dad. He was sure she wouldn't, especially with the hot spring being in a worsening financial situation, but his family was hopeful that this coming season would be better. It had to be.

By the time he got home, it was well past midnight, and he tiptoed through the house as quietly as he could. He had chugged his whole water bottle on the bus ride into town and the walk home from the stop and his bladder was beginning to bother him for a bathroom break, which he took care of in the shower. He went straight there, shedding himself of his clothes and hopping into the shower, relishing the hot water hitting his skin. This was always the first thing he did when he got home, wanting to wash as much glitter off as he could. With his skin turned a light pink due to the heat, teeth brushed, and bladder empty, Yuuri headed off to bed, quietly closing the door behind him. He fell onto his bed like a rock and instantly drifted off to sleep, exhaustion making it quite easy.

Unlike most, Yuuri never wanted to forget his experiences with his clients. He relished watching how their faces changed when his warm mouth would wrap around them in their most sensitive area. He made sure to utilize his tongue to its fullest potential. His goal was to elicit as many sounds of pleasure as possible. And unlike many, who would see a position like this as submissive, Yuuri saw it as a source of his power over them. In that moment, he was the one giving them the illusion that they were in charge, when really, he was the one that controlled just how much pleasure they would feel. All they could do was clutch at his hair and beg for more.

"Oh, Yuuri! Would you like some breakfast?" He heard his mom say when she saw him pass by.

Yuuri was going to head to the rink but looking at her smiling at him, he sighed before nodding and walking over to the table. It was no use. He was weak against that smile of hers, plus last night had been his second night working in a row, and he hadn't really seen or interacted with her or dad in a few days. Tonight was his last night working before he had a break from it. He went about it like a part time job, usually working three days or so a week. If he needed extra money, he'd pick up another shift, but it wasn't needed this week.

"Hi, mom. Sorry if it seemed I disappeared for a few days. Working a few days in a row does that I suppose," he said.

His mouth immediately started watering when she put a pork cutlet bowl in front of him. She knew it was his favorite.

"Thought I'd make your favorite dish since you've been working so hard. Is tonight your last one for this week?" she asked, sitting down and sipping on some tea.

For now, she thought Yuuri was working at a grocery store that was out of town, so that's why he had to take the bus. Of course, he knew what he was actually doing wouldn't be able to stay a secret. He planned on telling them eventually but maybe when the hot spring was in a better financial position, and he didn't necessarily need to work to help out. He wasn't sure if her little heart could take it if he bluntly said he was an erotic dancer or stripper or pole dancer or whatever one would want to call it. Personally, he found erotic dancer to sound more professional, but of course, everyone had their own opinions on that. Knowing his level of skill with his figure skating, his dancing always attracted attention. There were probably multiple videos of him on the Internet already. He prayed no one would recognize him, though knowing someone like Minako, who knew his body type quite well from ballet lessons, he wouldn't be surprised if she brought it up. But for now, his secret was safe.

"Yeah, I'll be free until next Thursday. Let me know anything I can do to help out with the hot spring. I really have nothing better to do besides lessons with Minako and practicing at the rink. This place means a lot to me too, mom. I just wanted to make sure you knew that. I'm sure you already did."

He felt his back stiffen a bit when he noticed a tear rolling down her cheek.

"I know you do. Thank you, Yuuri. But you've been working so hard, so after tonight, you just relax and do whatever you want tomorrow."

Despite the few tears, she wore her usual happy smile. Both of them enjoyed the peace and ate breakfast together.

Yuuri spent a bit of time at the rink, skating around, practicing a few jumps. He used to be competitive but due to a humiliating loss, he said he was on a "break." Whenever Yuko would ask about going back into competitions again, he'd say he'd have to find the right coach. For now, it was back to being an outlet for him, not to mention good practice for his dancing. As usual, he also made a run out to the bank. He had to have a safer place to keep all his money besides hoarded in his bedroom. The clerk always gave him a suspicious look when he'd bring in so many individual bills, but he'd simply say he was a delivery driver, and these were all his tips that he made. Though depending on which clerk, most were used to this usual routine. Money was money after all.

Soon, it was getting close to the evening, and Yuuri had to make his commute out of town and into the nearby city. He showered again before he left. He waved goodbye to his mom, letting her know he'd be home late again. As always, the owner greeted him enthusiastically met by a casual wave from Yuuri as he went into his dressing room. He was always excited whenever Yuuri was working, knowing it'd be a profitable night. Yuuri took his time with getting himself ready. He started with his usual tight, black lace outfit and slid his glasses off, carefully placing them by the mirror.

 _I am becoming Eros._

Victor had done some asking around and eventually found the club that the dancer worked at. It was a relatively upscale one in the downtown area, and he was quite impressed. There looked to be a wide range of different ages. The club itself had different large rooms featuring different dancers. Some rooms had women dancers while others had men. He made sure he was in the right one that featured Eros, who looked to be one of the most popular ones. The room was packed, and Victor ended up having to lean against a wall. His eyes were immediately drawn to stage right as he spotted Eros walking out onto the stage and towards the pole. His lips were drawn into a tiny smirk and seductive eyes scanning the room. Victor felt his heart nearly stop when their eyes met, lingering for a few seconds before the dancer winked at him and Victor instinctively winked back and felt his smile growing when he noticed the dancer's face turn a bit red before directing his gaze elsewhere.


	2. Chapter 2

With another fresh sheen of sweat coating his skin after his performance, Yuuri stooped over to collect the money and various things thrown. When he looked up, he saw the silver haired man again. This time, he was standing right in front of the stage face to face with Yuuri.

"A beautiful performance," he said smoothly in a Russian accent.

From his coat pocket, he brought out a small flower he had picked up on the way and handed it to him. With all eyes in the room on him, Yuuri gingerly took the flower from him and placed it in his slicked back hair.

"Thank you," he whispered, feeling his face heat up again.

Lastly, he bowed to the room before going off to his dressing room. That was odd. He never really got flustered like that at some random guy. Was it because he was a foreigner? There wasn't much that could get through his Eros like that.

"So, what does my client list look like tonight?" Yuuri asked as he saw the owner standing in the doorway.

"You actually got bought out by one: the Russian that seemed to really have your attention tonight. He's waiting, so I'm just gonna have him come in here if that's alright."

"He bought me for the rest of my shift? Really?"

How rich was this guy? He never had anyone buy a session for that long before but money was money.

"Alright, yeah, send him in here." Yuuri nodded with a gesture of his hand.

He swiveled around in his seat, crossing his legs and folded his arms as he waited for the man to enter, mentally preparing himself and trying to keep his Eros state of mind. He gave the silver haired man a somewhat bored expression as he entered the room, though that didn't seem to change how excited the other was.

"The Eros dancer! We finally meet! I'm Victor Nikiforov," he exclaimed excitedly as he vigorously shook Yuuri's hand.

At the mention of the name, Yuuri finally connected it to his appearance. Of course! He was Victor, the famous figure skater. Yuuri felt himself gulp once he realized and could actually see him clearly now that he was up close.

"Oh, uh, the figure skater?" he managed to ask, trying to stay nonchalant.

His focused his eyes elsewhere, finding himself unable to look into Victor's clear blue eyes for too long.

"Indeed, I am. I know you go by Eros. I was actually drawn here by watching a video of one of your performances, and I must say, you move very gracefully, much like a figure skater does." Victor winked at him and leaned against the table. "Your stage name is beautiful, but may I ask for your actual name?"

"Why do you want to know? Most of my clients don't care about that and just want to get down to it. If you take this chair, we can get on with it." Yuuri went back to his flirty tone and gestured to the chair he was sitting in.

"Oh, I don't care about that. I want to take you out on a date," Victor chirped and curiously eyed the glasses sitting on the vanity.

"A date?" Yuuri exclaimed, clearly confused. "You paid a bunch of money to have me for the rest of my shift jus to take me out on a date?"

He seriously thought he was joking still but by the honest smile and little nod, Yuuri finally sighed and nodded himself.

"Alright, I'll be ready in five. Some privacy would be appreciated. And my name is Yuuri Katsuki by the way," he said as he pushed the other out and closed the door.

He breathed a sigh of relief once he was alone again and began to shed himself of his outfit and back into his street clothes. This night was starting to take a turn he hadn't expected. The guy was handsome, of course he was. He was the idol Yuuri had looked up to for so many years up close and in person. It'd be foolish to just reject him, especially with the financial position his family was in. Maybe he was one of those guys who fell in love easily..or at least thought they did. Yuuri remembered when he was like that, but of course, things happen and people mature.

Looking in the mirror, he messed his hair up a bit so his bangs fell over his forehead, and it was looser. Lastly, he slipped his glasses back on and headed out the door.

"So, where are we going on this date?" Yuuri asked, trying to play it cool and lean against the wall on the other side of the hallway.

"Uh, well, about that..I kind of just got here from Russia, so I don't really know this area all that well. Are there any places you know of?"

Was he for real? He probably dropped a lot of money just to take him out on a date, and he didn't even know where he wanted to take him. Yuuri tried to shake it off. He figured he was one of the nicer of his clients.

"Well, there's a really good ramen place nearby. They have good pork cutlet bowls or katsudons. I say pretty good since my mom's are much better, but it'll do."

Yuuri motioned for Victor to follow him over to a door the served as an exit on the side of the building. His breath created little clouds against the cool autumn air as they walked down the sidewalk lined with streetlights to light the way.

"Wow, so this is you when you're not Eros? Just as cute though." Victor smiled at him warmly and snuck an arm around his shoulders.

The sudden touch took Yuuri by surprise, but he tried to play it cool.

"Yeah, outside the stage I'm just regular old Yuuri. Being in there allows me to bring out a persona that empowers me."

To be honest, he wasn't even sure why he was telling him this. This was stuff he hadn't even told his family or close friends yet, not sure how to even say it the right way without straight up saying he was an erotic dancer.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoy it. You don't get people hassling you, do you?" Victor asked, sounding rather protective.

"No, no, I promise that Eros is the one with the power. People come to me and beg me for a private dance. I almost never get harassed. The owner sees to that. I'm sure he'd love it if I worked full time, but I think my family would miss me too much if I went into work almost every night."

Victor nodded, a bit distracted by all the lights lining the street.

"Wow, Japan has some cool cities. I love all the lights, and this smaller city is a lot less stressful than Tokyo, though that city's rather fun as well," Victor said. "I know it's a ways away from here, but have you been to Tokyo?"

"A few times. It's actually pretty fast when I take the train, though I do enjoy the familiarity of my hometown."

Yuuri pulled on Victor's sleeve once they reached the ramen shop as he was about to pass it.

"And we're here."

He had them take the two stools at the end of the bar and handed Victor a menu.

"They have a lot of different things, but like I said, I recommend the katsudon, but you can get whatever you want."

He ordered them some green tea to start. A steaming hot teapot was brought out along with two little cups. Victor looked absolutely amazed as Yuuri poured him some and he happily sipped it.

"Alright, I'll try this katsudon you talk so much about."

Yuuri nodded and ordered them both one before returning to his own cup of tea.

"You say your 'hometown.' So, I'm guessing this city isn't your hometown?" Victor asked.

He was curious to know more about Yuuri, beginning to prod a bit.

"No, my town is much smaller than this. It's called Hansetsu. It's known for its hot springs and being by the ocean and such. My family owns one of the last hot spring hotels in the town. It's..not doing very well financially. That's one of the reasons I have this job. I'm helping out my family," Yuuri said, again, not sure how much he should tell him.

"Hmm, I see. How dutiful of you. The hot springs sound lovely, and you said your family owns a hotel with these hot springs?"

"Uh, yeah, that's what I said."

Victor took another sip of his tea, now wearing a determined look.

"Alright, it's settled then. I'm going to check out of the hotel I'm in here and stay at your family's inn. They can use some business, right?"

Yuuri nearly spit out his tea as he whipped his head over to look at him. It's not like he could say no. Any business they could get was crucial to keeping the place open. Not to mention that Victor seemed to have a thing for him. Some extra money from him couldn't hurt.

"Fine, you can stay there, but you have to promise me something. No matter what, do not let anything slip to my mom, dad, sister, or anyone that knows me that I'm an erotic dancer at some club. Right now, they think I work late at a grocery store. I'm waiting for the right time to tell them the truth. Eros is a little secret of mine, so promise me you'll keep this a secret."

Yuuri gave him a serious look and held out his hand to Victor. Victor looked from Yuuri's hand then back to him with a little smirk.

"Of course. Your secret's safe with me."

With a light touch, he brought Yuuri's hand up to his lips and gently kissed it, causing Yuuri's cheeks to turn pink. He was mentally preparing himself not to freak out if Victor did anything like that.

"You know, I came all the way here just to see you. I would never do anything to piss you off, lovely," he teased with a wink.

The arrival of the pork cutlet bowls interrupted them. The two big bowls were filled to the brim with broth and steam rose from them, travelling up to the ceiling. Yuuri stifled a laugh when he saw how amazed Victor was.

"As the guest, you can have the first bite, you know," he said with a little chuckle and separated his chopsticks while blowing on the hot dish.

"Alright then, Vkusno!"

Watching Victor, he thought he was going to implode as he took his first few bites.

"Yuuri! This dish is amazing!"

"Glad you think so. If you think this is amazing, I'm interested to see how you would react to my mom's katsudon."

If Victor was this amazed, he'd probably die from his mom's cooking. The rest of the time there was mostly spent eating with a little bit of conversation in-between. Victor finished his in record time, while Yuuri took a bit longer, savoring it.

He was about to reach for the check when Victor pushed his hand out of the way.

"No, no, I insist," he said and handed his card over. "It's my treat. It's only fair since you're the one that showed me this place."

Yuuri shrugged and sat back a bit, not really caring that Victor wanted to pay the bill. He didn't mind being spoiled.

Once the two were back outside, Victor's hotel and Yuuri's bus were in opposite directions.

"Just give me the address of your family's place, and I'll meet you there. I'll have to move some luggage and my dog from my hotel, so let your parents know to prepare a room for me."

He said goodbye by cupping Yuuri's cheek and bringing their lips together for a quick kiss before turning around with a goofy smile and practically running to his hotel, leaving Yuuri standing there with full lips and wide eyes. He recovered a few seconds later, shaking his head and heading for the bus stop. He could hardly believe these turn of events as he rode the bus home. He found his finger absent mindingly tracing his own lips where Victor had kissed him, feeling warm all over.

"I'm home!" Yuuri called as he entered his home.

"Oh, Yuuri! You're home earlier than usual," his mom called back and walked in and past the front desk to hug him.

"Yeah, I got out early. Oh, and mom, I have some incredible news. We have a customer!"

He couldn't seem to stop smiling as he saw her eyes practically light up.

"A customer? Really? I mean, it's not like we don't have a few customers currently, but still, a customer!"

"Yeah, and he's a foreigner. He's from Russia..um, do you know that figure skater I always idolized?"

"Oh, yes! Victor was his name, right? You'd watch him on the TV. Oh! Is that who it is?"

"Yeah, it's Victor. Just, um, promise me you won't mention the whole idolized him part, okay?"

Yuuri didn't want to feed his ego more. He didn't need Victor asking him more embarrassing questions and especially not in front of his mother.

"Oh, of course! I won't be embarrassing. I promise. I'll go get one of our best rooms ready for him."

She called for his sister and walked off after she fished out a key from the front desk and went to find the room. Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief that that was taken care of and went to turn around to wait for Victor when a big poodle suddenly tackled him to the floor and soon, his face was practically coated in dog saliva. He put his hands on top of his glasses to protect them from any drool.

"Makkachin, be nice to Yuuri." He heard Victor's voice and soon the dog was off of him, and he was sitting up, seeing Victor standing in front of him with his usual smile.

"Care to show me around, Yuuri?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh, Mr. Nikiforov! We just got your room ready," Hiroko exclaimed as she walked in to see Victor standing there with Yuuri on the floor with a dog sitting on him. "My, you bring such liveliness into this old place."

"You must be Yuuri's mom. It's lovely to meet you, and you can just call me Victor," he said with his usual charismatic smile.

"So, you and Yuuri have met?" she asked, remembering that Yuuri had asked her to keep his idolizing of Victor a secret and kept things vague.

"Yes, he's actually the one that recommended this place to stay in while I'm in Japan."

"My Yuuri is such a good son, making sure this place still gets some revenue. I'll have him show you to your room." She handed the keys to Yuuri, who was still lying on the floor until Victor called for Maccachin, and he was finally able to get up.

She winked at him as she handed him the room key. Yuuri smiled back, trying to make things seem casual, and he gestured for Victor to follow him, carrying some of his bags for him. He plopped them onto the floor once he was in the room and handed Victor the key.

"We have a few spare room keys if you end up losing yours. I can show you where the hot spring is if you want," Yuuri said, keeping a professional tone.

Victor looked back at him with a little smirk, looking Yuuri up and down.

"Only if you go in with me. I still haven't seen that beautiful body of yours up close and personal yet."

 _So, this is how he's going to play this. Well, I'll play along._

"Oh, I don't know. It's getting pretty late, and I'll have to go to bed eventually," Yuuri said with a fake yawn.

"Oh, come on, I know you have some sort of interest in me, though I'm still figuring you out. Besides, as a good host, you should probably accept my invitation."

Yuuri had to try to stop himself from making a snide comment, sighing and nodding.

"Alright, alright. Besides, it'll make my mom happy to see the hot spring being used."

He lead Victor through the hallways and into the hot spring area. There was a locker room type area to put their clothes and such in along with towels by the door.

"Our usual busy season is coming up, so we're hoping for some good business in the coming month, but you'll probably be the biggest paying customer we've had for a while," Yuuri said as he began to strip himself of his clothes.

Victor looked at him with an interested stare but soon turned to take his own clothes off.

"Well, I'm glad I can help you guys out," Victor said and soon had all of his clothes off, storing them in a nearby locker.

Yuuri, on the other hand, still had yet to take most of his off. Currently, he had his shoes and socks off as well as his glasses.

"Do you plan on going in with all that still on?" Victor teased and sat there waiting on him.

With a sigh, Yuuri slowly pulled his shirt off, exposing his bare torso and the muscles of someone who works the pole quite often. He averted his eyes elsewhere as he slipped off his pants and everything else until he was completely nude. Quickly, he walked over and grabbed a white towel to wrap around his waist. He held out one for Victor, his face a bit pink as he finally looked at him. Victor took the towel from him and did the same. He couldn't help but let his eyes wander over Yuuri's body.

"Alright, enough staring," Yuuri grumbled and opened the door that lead outside to the hot spring. In the cool air, steam rose from the warm water, and Yuuri dipped a toe in to test the temperature.

"Feels perfect," he said with a nod.

He placed his towel off to the side and quickly sank into the hot spring before Victor got a chance to ogle him again. He sighed in contentment as he felt the warmth against a few aching muscles. Pole dancing took a lot of strength, and Yuuri had to use practically every muscle to pull off the moves he did. His muscles were compact but tight and strong, giving him a strong body but still maintaining a thin physique to keep him graceful looking, the same kind of body type for a figure skater. He sat in the water up to his collar bone, so most of his body was hidden and glanced over to see Victor getting in as well. He thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head when the other let out a rather sexual sounding sigh at the feeling of the water then scooched up right next to Yuuri.

"I'm guessing you don't have a concept of personal space?" Yuuri teased but felt himself tense up when he felt an arm wrap around his lower back and a hand ever so gently hang onto his hip.

"I suppose I don't. But I find that my encounters with others is more fun that way."

Up until this point, Yuuri had been trying his best to act confident and nonchalant, like he was on the stage, but now he was back to being regular old Yuuri, and he wasn't sure how to handle this.

"You know, I am interested to see what you're like when you're not Eros," Victor said, lowering his voice a bit to whisper it by his ear.

"Uh, I assure you I'm just as confident and then some," Yuuri squeaked out.

Yuuri was gradually growing tired of the teasing. Now, he just wanted to wipe that smug look off of his face. He found himself now watching Victor's lips and licking his own. Taking a deep breath, he finally lunged forward a bit, bringing Victor's face forward with one hand and caught their lips together. He moved to lay on his side and hooked his leg around Victor's and very slowly ran his thigh down the length of the other man's thigh. The warm water made their skin feel incredibly smooth to each other. He kissed him as hard as he could before breaking the kiss and simply breathing as his eyes met Victor's, still keeping their faces close together.

"Well, uh..wow," was all Victor managed to say, still completely taken by surprise.

"This isn't the club. Here, you can touch me all that you want. So, where did that confidence go all of a sudden?" Yuuri teased, enjoying how the stunned the other man was.

His other hand slowly glided down his torso and ever so lightly had his fingers hover over his crotch before teasingly pulling away and sitting on the other side of the hot spring with a sly smirk across his face. He took one of his hands out of the water and ran it through his hair and winked over at Victor.

"If you want me, you'll have to come and get me."

Victor recovered from the sudden closeness and wore a mischievous smile, slowly making his way over to Yuuri.

"Don't mind if I do."

He was only a little ways away from Yuuri when the door to the inn suddenly opened and someone walked out toward the hot spring. Still with a calm expression, Yuuri leaned to the left to see who it was.

"Oh, hi, dad!" he chirped and wore his usual cute smile, though when he glanced over at Victor, whose face was almost completely red from being interrupted, he gave him a devilish smirk.

"Sorry to interrupt the peace and quiet, but your mom made a late dinner. Victor can join too if he wants."

Yuuri nodded, assuring that they'd be out in a minute and waited for him to go back inside before looking at Victor again.

"Well, we'll have to resume this later," he said with a slight chuckle and got out, picking up his towel on the way. "You coming?"

Victor was still in a bit of shock from nearly being walked in on by Yuuri's dad and looked up at Yuuri blankly before he registered what he said.

"Oh, why of course! I'd love to join in on family dinner."

Just as Yuuri got back to his locker, Victor slid a hand down his torso to where the towel began on his waist from behind.

"You're a sneaky one, Yuuri. Are we going to keep playing hard to get?"

The sudden touch caused Yuuri's breath to hitch quietly, but he soon regained his composure, looking back at him with an innocent smile.

"Oh? I have no idea what you're going on about." He turned around suddenly, pressing himself up against Victor. "But if you want me, you'll just have to play the game."

He enjoyed how just doing stuff like this and trying his best to talk all seductively could make Victor blush so much. Being Eros really did give him a lot of confidence, and he planned on using that to the fullest. He leaned against him like this for a few more seconds before pushing back and continuing to get his clothes back on. Soon, he was back in his running pants and t-shirt and waited for Victor by the door.

Yuuri could smell dinner before he got to the room and found a variety of his favorite foods, including pork cutlet bowls. Victor sat across from him, giving him a wink as they sat down. There was a little spiel from Mari welcoming Victor and a toast to a successful upcoming tourist season. Along with the bowl, Yuuri piled shrimp on a bowl. As he started to eat them, he looked directly at Victor as he bit into them slowly and made sure to do plenty of licking. Victor watched him curiously, feeling his face heat up just from watching. He tried distracting himself with eating, but Yuuri kept at it with every new piece of food, not planning on letting up anytime soon. He aimed to get Victor as hot and bothered as possible. From how red Victor's face was getting, it was definitely working.


	4. Chapter 4

Yuuri woke in the morning, stretching his arms high over his head with an exaggerated yawn. His room was messy as usual with clothes thrown around. He had been so exhausted last night, he just threw them on the ground as he tugged them off his body and fell into bed, falling asleep almost instantly. He sighed as he saw the red numbers on his clock reading 12:00. He had planned on practicing a bit at Minako's studio for his job. The same job that he currently had sore muscles from as he made his way out of bed. Minako-sensei knew a bit about his "secret" job. He made sure not to divulge too many details, but she basically knew that he worked the pole for money. He chose to leave the entertaining patrons part out of it. He packed a little duffel with his tighter clothes for practicing along with a water bottle.

He prayed that Victor was still sleeping or at least not up and walking around as he crept out of his room. With the sudden sunlight from the hallway, Yuuri's vision went white for a moment before adjusting to the brightness. He noted that he should open his blinds before leaving so he wasn't going from complete darkness into the stark contrast of morning. He slung his duffel over his shoulder as he walked to the bathroom, quickly brushing his teeth and washing his face up. It was probably best not to completely look like death when he got to Minako-sensei's studio. Luckily, he hadn't spotted the Russian yet or the huge poodle, so he figured he must be out somewhere or still in his room.

"Oh, good morning, Yuuri!" He heard his mom call as he walked past the lounge area.

"Morning, mom," Yuuri called back, only glancing over in that direction slightly. "I'm going to practice for a bit at Minako-sensei's studio, then I'll probably go to the ice rink."

He was slipping his sneakers on now that were sitting by the door.

"Well, I hope you'll be coming back soon." Yuuri went rigid as he clearly heard Victor's voice.

He gulped a bit as he turned around and saw his mom sitting with Victor. Both held steaming cups of tea.

"Oh, Victor..I didn't even know you were there." He tried his best to make it sound casual. "Seems you two are getting along just fine."

"Vicchan is wonderful, Yuuri. He was telling me all about Russia and his skating. I was just getting to tell him a bit about your skating."

Yuuri thought he was going to fall over or his legs were just going to give out from under him.

"O-oh? Is that so? Was all he could manage to say.

He prayed that she hadn't told him anything about his attempts to skate competitively, the ones that had obviously failed.

"Yeah, and it makes me interested to see you figure skate, Yuuri. She tells me you're pretty good," Victor said with his iconic wink.

"W-well, I don't like to brag or anything, but I guess I'm alright." His voice cracked a bit, and Yuuri tried his best to hide his obvious embarrassment.

"I guess you'll have to see it later, well, Minako-sensei is expecting me, and I'm already later enough as it is, so I'll be back later."

He waved as he walked backwards and quickly left out the door. He sprinted down the sidewalk all the way over to her studio. The run managed to help him calm down and at least get his heart pumping in a productive way.

"You're lucky I have clients that are interested in pole dancing classes for exercise purposes obviously. I was always wondering how you've stayed so fit for this long with you not skating as much as usual."

"I suppose I was the last person you'd think was pole dancing," Yuuri chuckled as he followed her over to the studio room.

It was a new installment, though Minako always insisted that it had been there for a while now. Yuuri secretly knew she probably had it installed because of him, but he kept on pretending to believe her claims.

"Guess I've always had this other sexy side of me you never knew about," he teased before heading into the bathroom to change.

In a few minutes, he was out in form fitting jogging pants and a tight t-shirt.

"I'm quite impressed you came up with most of your moves on your own, but I'm planning on helping you get to the next level. After I start teaching you, I think you'll find a drastic increase in the money you're bringing home," she said rather proudly.

They went on for a few hours, working on a new routine that Yuuri had started creating himself. It became more solid and fluid with Minako's help. By the end, he was drastically sweatier and gasping for breath.

"It's a lot tougher than my Eros routine, but the more technical it is, the more money I'll make. That is true," Yuuri chuckled as he wiped his face off with a towel.

"Thanks for your help, Minako-sensei. Same time tomorrow?"

"Same time tomorrow," she agreed. "With my help, you'll become the best dancer in all of Kyushu. You'll have to let me see one of your performances."

Even with Minako-sensei, Yuuri was always hesitant about letting anyone that knew him, even a little bit, see his performances at the club.

"Um, yeah. I think that can be arranged. I'll let you know which night is best. Just..promise this'll always stay between us. I don't want my family to know..yet anyway." That always seemed to be in the back of his mind, getting found out in the worst way possible. "I want to tell them when I'm ready, and when I think it's best."

"You know I'm good on my word, Yuuri. With me, this secret is under lock and key," she assured. "I just can't wait to see it! It's one of the sexiest routines I've ever seen. You'll put every other dancer to shame, though I'm sure that's what you do already."

Yuuri left the studio, feeling a bit better. Practicing and learning new routines always seemed to put his mind at ease, even though the inevitable thought of getting found out was always in the back of his mind. He knew Minako-sensei would keep it a secret. He's known her for a long time now, but still, it was always a nagging thought. Not to mention, Victor knew about that too. He seemed like the type of guy that could easily let a secret slip into a conversation if he wasn't careful, which is exactly why him talking with his mother was so nerve wracking. He wanted to trust that Victor wouldn't do that, but another part of him was always so paranoid.

 _It's okay. You're okay._

It was a mantra he often told himself, an affirmation.

Soon, he could spot the ice castle in the distance and slowly relaxed. Ice skating was another outlet that seemed to put his mind at ease. Hearing the sound of the ice against the blades of his skates was something that brought him to a peaceful place. On the ice, he could be himself without having to worry about anything besides falling when he practiced jumps obviously. Hasetsu Ice Castle..that place was a safe haven to him.


	5. Chapter 5

Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief once he was alone again and walking the familiar path to the Ice Castle. He remembered when he first started pole dancing and how sore his body would be after each practice session. He had attempted to learn it on his own but found his skills sorely lacking for what he needed to do for the audition at the club he now worked at. He had some strength from his figure skating and managed to lift himself onto it easily but had a hard time figuring out how he was supposed to keep himself on it. He had known the thighs were the key, but always ended up slipping off it, resulting in nearly skinning his inner thighs each time, not to mention the countless times he accidentally smacked his crotch right into the pole, resulting in a painful slide down to the floor. He'd be tender in that area for the rest of the day. It wasn't until he built up the courage to tell Minako what he wanted to do. She even had a pole installed in her studio that day just for him. If it wasn't for her guidance, he probably wouldn't be where he was today skill wise. She even choreographed his routines and Yuuri would show it to the owner as a preview to what he was doing. Minako always made it her goal to choreograph a routine for him that would get him the most amount of money.

"I want everyone leaving that club with their pockets empty because they spent it all on you," was something she often said.

Oddly enough, it brought a smile to his face when he thought about how much she had helped him so far. The new routine they were working on currently featured an American song that Minako assured was "super sexy, you'll be practically oozing sex more than usual." Now, Yuuri made it a goal to have a new routine every week to show off. He almost wished competitive pole dancing was a thing like figure skating was. It was something he felt confident in. He could take on a different persona on the pole.

Looking out at the path ahead of him, the Ice Castle rink was coming into view. Yuuri was just about to make it to the first step when someone clasped onto his right shoulder from behind, causing him to nearly fall forward as he whipped around. He sighed in relief when it was Victor who was behind him. He looked up at the Russian with a sort of indignant look.

"You could've just said my name. There was no need to sneak up on me like that," he sighed and leaned against the railing by him, shifting his weight there.

Victor smirked as his sharp eyes noticed a fine sheen of sweat along Yuuri's neck. There was no doubt he had been doing something rather physical.

"So, I'm curious. How exactly are you so graceful on the pole?"

Victor often liked to ask random and sometimes intrusive questions. Plus, the look of surprise and slight shock on Yuuri's face was priceless.

"Uh, well, practice I guess. I used to not be very good, but Minako-sensei's really helped me perfect my technique."

"So, how exactly do you grip onto the pole. It looks rather difficult like how do you not hurt the, uh..package?"

"I, uh, use my thighs. I grip onto it between them with my inner thighs. And I did hit my crotch on the pole a lot at first, but you gotta just catch the pole with your thighs before it reaches that point. And, why am I explaining all of this to you?"

Yuuri shook his head and began to head up the stairs to the ice rink. Of course, Victor happily followed after him, happy as a clam just to be with Yuuri, even if he was being grumpy. Once inside, Yuuri was greeted by an enthusiastic Yuko, eyes growing wide when she spotted Victor behind him.

"Oh! So, it is true! Victor's here! Yuuri and I always looked up to you when we were rink mates," she chattered excitedly.

"You two were rink mates?" Victor asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at Yuuri.

"Yeah, when we were kids. Feel free to direct any questions to Yuko. I'm going out on the ice."

Yuuri flashed her a smile before trudging off to the rink. Victor sneaking up on him was unexpected, but he tried not to let that throw him off. Skating on the ice always seemed to clear his mind anyway, and he had to make sure not to neglect it for his pole dancing.

It was just him in the rink for a moment, only him and the sound of the blade of his skates against the ice. He kept it slow and steady for now, skating around in slow circles then went on a few laps. He sighed when he noticed Victor there now, watching him intently. It always seemed like those blue eyes of his were always studying him, trying to figure him out. This time, on the ice, he was feeling more daring. He executed several jumps. First was a triple axel, working to a Salchow, and Lutz, flubbing just two of them before moving onto quads. Victor placed a finger over his lips in interest as he watched him.

"You move just as beautifully on the ice," he called from the railing, waving at Yuuri. "Tell me, have you ever attempted a quadruple flip?"

"Isn't that your signature move? I don't think I'm that good yet," Yuuri called back. With a roll of his eyes, he decided to skate up to him so they wouldn't be yelling to each other from across the rink.

"Your skating seems so familiar to me..have you skated competitively before?"

Oh, no. This is exactly what he wanted to keep from him and now he was asking him about it directly. He already knew about his pole dancing which was enough.

"Uh..no. It's a side kind of thing..to keep my strength up for pole dancing, you know." He wasn't sure if the nervous chuckle afterwards made it any more believable.

"Hmmm..alright, if you say so." He wore something that was like a knowing smirk, like he figured something out but chose to keep it to himself. "Well, carry on."

He retreated back to take a seat and observe him again. Yuuri lingered in that spot, not sure how to make his legs move after that but soon, forced himself to skate off to the middle of the rink again. He kept at the jumps until his legs felt a bit unsteady and skated off the ice to take a break. He grabbed a towel to wipe off any more sweat that accumulated on his face and neck.

"I'm curious," he started to say, directing it over to Victor. "It couldn't have just been a video of one of my routines on the pole that brought you here. I'm not buying that. It has to be something else."

He wasn't one to just accept some suspicious answer like that. Why would someone like Victor just drop everything he was doing in Russia just to see some random pole dancer in Japan. It just didn't make any sense to him.

"Hmm, well, you have your secrets and I have mine. I want us to get to know each other a bit more before I give you that answer."

Well, that was cryptic. Yuuri was growing irritated again and was about to say something but stopped himself. Most likely, he'd just get another cryptic answer, so he chose to drop it.

"Alright, well, I think my mom's going to be starting to cook dinner soon. I told her I'd help her out," he said as he packed up his skates, slinging the bag over his shoulders.

"Dinner sounds great! And even better if I'm going to eat food made by you and your mom," Victor hummed and happily walked with Yuuri back to the inn.

Yuuri sighed as he pushed the intrusive thoughts out and focused on the coming task at hand. He didn't know what Victor knew that he didn't, but he planned to get to the bottom of it.


	6. Chapter 6

A week went by as it usually did for Yuuri, spending the days working on the new routine with Minako. It was Thursday again, and Yuuri had his usual night shift at the club. He planned to spend most of the afternoon finishing up practice at Minako's studio. He remembered she said something about his new outfit coming in today. He was mentally preparing himself for it as he took his time jogging over there. He prayed it wasn't too revealing. The beauty of his Eros outfit was a bit of see through lace exposed him, but he was mostly covered by the skin-tight material. Minako said that if he wanted to step up his game, he'd have to be more comfortable with showing more skin.

When Victor asked if he could watch him practice, as always, Yuuri said no. It was enough that Victor would most likely come to the club to watch him. He certainly didn't want him watching him practice. But of course, what Yuuri didn't know was Victor stealthily following him. He wasn't usually one to listen and was intently curious to see how he was in the studio. He certainly had a different persona on the pole. That much was clear just from watching him last week.

"I'm here!" Yuuri announced, knocking on the studio door before going in.

"Yuuri! What great timing! It just arrived." Minako held up a package with rather fancy writing all over it.

Yuuri's face went beet red when he saw part of it from the see-through part, seeing a sparkly black fabric.

"Please tell me it's not too revealing," he sighed and walked over so he could see it.

"Well..it may be a bit revealing, but I guarantee it'll go well with your routine, and you'll knock everyone dead with it. You'll make so much money." Minako tried to be as encouraging as possible. "Why don't you go to the bathroom and try it on? I have some more news to tell you, but I'll see what you think of it first."

With a begrudging sigh, Yuuri took the box and walked off to the bathroom, being sure to lock the door behind him. He fiddled with the tape that held the box closed and thought his heart was going to stop as he slowly opened it and saw the two piece set that definitely didn't leave much to the imagination. It was all the same soft, sparkly black material with rather tight looking panties with multiple straps on top that made a criss cross pattern. There was a top piece that was a completely see through translucent lace with the sparkly black material that hugged his pecs on either side to cover his nipples, but that was about it. He was debating whether he should even wear this in front of Minako, not that she'd care. She was the one that picked this out. It took him a while, but he finally slipped it on, covering himself with his arms as he looked at himself in the mirror. Yup, very revealing. He was self-conscious enough, how was he supposed to focus on his choreography with this on and especially when a ton of people were watching him tonight? He took deep breaths as he grabbed a robe and draped it on.

"So, I'm curious. What made you choose this one?" Yuuri walked out, face still flushed pink even with the robe on.

"I wanted to get you one that was flashy like your Eros one but even more enthralling. I think you'll find it'll get you even more money in tips." She winked and looked him over. "Well, are you going to show me? I am your coach after all."

At first, Yuuri didn't think he'd be able to do it. He almost shook his head in protest but with shaky hands, he slowly opened up the robe to reveal the outfit underneath. The criss crossing straps hugged his hips nicely and laid the pattern out over his lower torso. Minako's eyes practically lit up seeing him in it.

"It looks perfect on you, Yuuri! Very sexy!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands happily.

"Oh, uh, thanks..I think? I'm not sure about this, but..if you think it's a good direction to go in, then I suppose I'll go with it."

"Oh! That reminds me!" Minako went over to her purse and pulled out a brochure. "I was just curious and came across this!"

She practically stuffed the brochure in Yuuri's face.

"It's the pole dancing World Championships! And they're being hosted in Japan this year. It's perfect! Of course, to get up to that level, you'll have to go through some preliminary competitions, but it'd be great to do in your off season from figure skating."

Just when he thought the surprises were done, Yuuri had more thrown at him. He had a hard time figure skating competitively due to his anxiety. He couldn't even imagine competitive pole dancing.

"Minako-sensei..it's a great idea, but I don't think it's for me," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I feel like I need way more confidence to do something like this."

"Are you kidding me, Yuuri? I've seen you when you're 'Eros.' You have a whole extremely confident persona within you. Plus, as an athlete, you must find ways to keep fit and since you're on a temporary break of sorts from competitive figure skating, this'll be a great way to stay active. Plus, it's still spring, and this is in the summer. You'll have a few months to train and knock out those preliminary competitions to qualify for the world championships. I will gladly be your coach for it."

Yuuri sighed as he looked over the brochure again. It'd be in Tokyo this summer and would have dancers from all over the world. He had to admit, she made good points, but he still didn't fully believe the confidence part.

"You should do it, Yuuri!" Yuuri nearly choked on his own spit when he suddenly heard Victor's voice from the doorway.

As quick as he could, he covered himself up with his robe before the Russian could see any of the revealing outfit.

"V-Victor? What..d-did you follow me here?" Yuuri's face had gone almost completely pale in shock as he shrank back over by Minako.

"Yeah, guilty, but you have some great skills. I think you should put them to use besides entertaining people. Plus, I'm pretty sure Chris is in those sorts of competitions too. And I'd love to help you with your training."

To Yuuri, he sounded way too enthusiastic about this. He was about to say something when Minako spoke up.

"Hold on there, figure skating boy wonder, I've been training Yuuri ever since he first got into pole dancing. If anyone's going to be his coach for it, it's me," she said, holding onto Yuuri's shoulders in a protective sort of way.

"Hmm, true. I obviously don't have the experience with him like you do, then..how about I be assistant coach?" Victor suggested with a rather smug expression.

"Assistant coach? Is that even a thing?" Yuuri scoffed, looking to Minako.

She placed a finger on her chin, obviously thinking it over and nodding to herself.

"Actually, that sounds like a great idea! It'll be good for Yuuri to have his figure skating idol helping him too."

"Oh? I'm your idol, Yuuri?" Victor wore a playful smirk to meet Yuuri's horrified expression.

"Minako-sensei!" he scolded, wearing a look of shock. "N-no..that's not true."

He didn't want Victor to know that, then he might remember him from the Grand Prix final, not knowing that Victor already did. Finally, he sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Alright, fine. If that's what you two want to do, but right now, I'm going to focus on getting my choreography down for tonight. And you better not ogle me, in fact, you," He pointed over to Victor, "Can't see it until tonight when it's perfected at the club."

Victor wore a disappointed expression but respected Yuuri's request.

"Alright, I'll leave you alone to practice, so I'm really expecting you to wow me tonight. I hope you can seduce me as much as you did the last time."

He winked and blew a kiss to Yuuri before leaving the studio.

"Hmm, you might not realize it yet, but you really do have him wrapped around your fingers. And here I didn't think the great Victor could fall so hard for some random dancer and figure skater in Japan." Minako gave him a knowing look before clapping her hands together and getting back to the task at hand. "Alright, now, you take that robe off and let's get to work."

Yuuri felt a bit more relaxed once he was back on the pole. He wasn't sure what it was, but he was always calmer and more composed, not like his usual jumpy self. If someone saw him during a performance then saw him as his everyday self with his glasses and shy demeanor, they'd wonder how the two could even be the same person. He still wasn't entirely sure about this whole competitive pole dancing thing, but he did enjoy being around Victor even if it was nerve wracking as hell. Victor would recognize him eventually, and he had to be ready for that, and he had to go back to figure skating sometime. His life practically revolved around it. It was just a part of him as anything else, and he felt like Victor was now too.

That evening, Yuuri was in front of his vanity in the back, finishing up with spraying some sparkles into his slicked back hair. Slowly, he let the robe fall to the floor and studied himself in the mirror. It's not like his body was that bad, but he was prone to have weight problems, spotting a few stretch marks by his stomach. He tried to push that out of his mind as he heard his name called.

"Coming!" he said back and lastly applied some chapstick.

 _You're Eros, and you can seduce any man._

All of the lights focused on Yuuri's pole as an announcement was made with his stage name. Cheers and whistles filled the room as Yuuri walked out with the robe covering himself. When he dropped it to the floor, he thought the whole room was going to lose it as he revealed his rather revealing new outfit. The black material sparkled brilliantly in the lights, and he seductively wrapped a leg around the pole. His eyes strained against the lights to try to spot Victor in the crowd. Sure enough, he was right up front, gazing up at Yuuri with an expression of awe. Not knowing what else to do, he flashed Yuuri a thumbs up. It felt rather dorky, but there was no way he could express how seeing Yuuri on that stage, glittering in the spot lights, made him feel. This man as Eros was a deadly weapon, and even Yuuri himself wasn't aware of that.


	7. Chapter 7

Yuuri found himself on the beach of Hasetsu. It was around midnight, and the crescent moon hung high in the sky surrounded by countless twinkling stars. He could still feel the slight itch from the straps and lace under his jacket and running pants. After all, it was a rather expensive outfit that Minako had ordered herself, like hell he'd just leave it at the club. This was a place he often went after his shifts when he needed to chill out and relax. Of course, Victor and Minako invited him to go to some bar with them. He thanked them but kindly declined, saying that he wanted to be alone. The looks on their faces, they must've thought he was depressed or something. Pushing that out of his mind, he focused back on the ocean. He wasn't sure how these competitions were going to go. There was no doubt that they were probably televised. He wondered how many would see him..possibly even recognize him. He still wasn't sure about all this, but the prize money kept him to it. He was good at it. That much was evident, and why not put that skill to good use besides for sex appeal and others' pleasure? Still, he was uneasy. And what was Victor thinking? He was a famous figure skater. What will people think when they see him associating with some pole dancer? Alright, he needed to stop. He was starting to overthink things again.

On the lonely bench he sat on, he held his head in his arms, attempting to calm himself into the Eros state of mind. Eventually, he found himself staring up at the stars who looked back at him. It was strange. Before, he'd never really stuck out. Now, he'd probably be one of the biggest objects of fascination in Tokyo..maybe even the world at least for a moment. It thrilled and frightened him all at the same time.

The resort was dark and rather deserted when he finally returned at about one in the morning. He made sure to be as quiet as possible, tip toeing through the empty hallways, heading straight to his room.

"You wanna know what really brought me here?" Victor's voice was rather loud in the quiet hallway, and Yuuri nearly smacked his foot right into his door, having to cover his mouth to keep from crying out in surprise.

"Victor? You're still up? Geez, your breath reeks of sake. How much did you drink?" he hissed in a hoarse whisper.

"Yuuri, I didn't drink thaaaat much." Victor rolled his eyes though it was quite clear that he was drunk.

"Ugh, just go to bed. We can talk about why you're 'really' here tomorrow when you're mostly sober."

Victor looked like he was about to fall over with the way his legs trembled slightly and how he was wobbling around. Yuuri was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to make it back to his room.

"Alright, I guess you can sleep with me tonight. I'm tired, and I don't feel like walking you to your room."

Yuuri promptly pushed him inside, quickly shutting the door behind them. Not really caring much since Victor was drunk, Yuuri stripped off his pants and jacket, revealing the lacy outfit and carefully slipping that off, getting into boxers and an old t-shirt.

"Your performance was really sexy, Yuuri," Victor hiccupped, trying his best to take his pants off, which he did manage but was having issues with his shirt.

Yuuri couldn't help but chuckle as he watched him and finally walked over and helped him pull his shirt off.

"Underwear stays on," Yuuri said firmly, yawning as he took the other side of the bed.

He got up again when he remembered that Victor was drunk, placing a small bucket by the side of the bed.

"If you're going to throw up, throw up into that." He pointed to the bucket and repeated it like he was talking to a puppy.

He then drew the covers over himself, finally relaxing now that he was in bed. Due to the small size of it, Victor slept rather close to him, occasionally going right up against Yuuri. Usually, this would send Yuuri into a mini heart attack, and he'd be thinking up ways to escape or hide, but he was oddly calm tonight. He wasn't sure if it was his visit to the beach that cleared his mind, but he was oddly okay with it. Victor was drunk, and this bed was small. It was only logical that they'd be close like this. He tried to stop a slight tremor from going through his body as he felt Victor wrap his arms around him. So, he got cuddly when he was drunk too, huh?

 _I hope you know what you're getting into, Victor. You're putting your skating on hold to basically woo a pole dancer who also figure skates. I certainly hope your fans will understand._

A groan escaped Yuuri as he slowly woke up to the sun shining in from the window. He looked over when he didn't feel Viktor's body near his and found the other side empty.

 _What the hell? He got up before me? He was completely wasted._

Looking at his phone, he found several messages from Victor. Many of them were filled with typos, so that must've been when he was drunk. The last one was perfectly clear: "Meet me at the ice rink when you wake up." Yuuri just put on the same jacket and pants as yesterday, not really needing to look rather impressive today. Just as he was about to slip his phone into his pocket, grab his bag, and leave, Yuuri lingered by the mirror, looking over himself. Despite getting a decent sleep, he always had faint perpetual shadows under his eyes. They were always there no matter what, and he could never seem to be rid of them. His sister had even offered to cover them up with a bit of her make up.

 _What does a guy like Victor see in me?_

He wondered this as he was fixated on himself in the mirror. The only time he really stood out was either on the ice or the pole. Everyday Yuuri was pretty boring and average looking. And from Victor's cryptic answer, it seemed that the other man was aware of something that Yuuri himself wasn't. He intended on finding out what this was, nodding to himself in the mirror before slinging his small duffel over his shoulder and jogging over to the ice rink.

When he arrived there, Victor was already skating around on the ice. His gold colored blades shimmered whenever they caught them sun. He really was beautiful like that with such a graceful form and movement. He was like some kind of mystical creature not from this Earth or one you'd read about in myths of old. He jumped slightly, nearly falling down the stairs, when Victor noticed him and motioned him down towards the railing. Yuuri stayed rather composed as he recovered and walked down there, plopping his bag down on a nearby bench before leaning on the railing.

"So, tell me what you know that I apparently don't." He decided to cut right to the chase, knowing how whimsy Victor could be.

"Well, you like to cut right to the chase. Funny how I was the one that was drunk, yet you look more exhausted than me," he teased, waving a finger at him before he began scrolling through his camera roll on his phone. "Do you recall the banquet after the last Grand Prix competition?"

Yuuri thought his legs were going to give out as he heard him mention the banquet. Wait, that meant that he recognized him.

"Um..well.. yeah. I drank too much and was pretty anti-social. I didn't really talk with anyone and ended up with a wicked hangover. And if you mentioned the banquet, does that mean you remember me from that?" This was exactly the opposite of what he wanted, but he supposed it was inevitable. They had had a few minor interactions back then, or at least from what he could remember.

"Anti-social? Didn't talk to anyone? I wouldn't say that..you really don't remember, huh?" Victor hummed while he continued to look through his phone, smiling once he found the right album. "It's true that you did have a lot to drink, but this is what happened after that. I suppose you have some natural skills on the pole."

As Yuuri looked through the pictures, his face took on a horrified expression not to mention turn bright red. He definitely didn't remember all this: the dancing, the pole, him grinding up on Victor. It was no wonder the guy showed up out of the blue, acting like they already had a connection. Was he extremely embarrassed? Definitely. But at the same time, he also felt a bit bad for not remembering. It was obvious from the bright sheen of Victor's eyes that this had been something special for him, even if he knew Yuuri had been drunk. Once his hands stopped shaking, he handed the phone back to Victor.

"I'm honestly getting so much second hand embarrassment just looking through those pictures. I'm kind of glad I don't remember most of it. I don't mean that in a bad way towards you of course! I mean just from everyone else watching."

Yuuri laughed his nervousness off, though he still couldn't really believe all that actually happened. This also meant that Victor probably remembered that horrible performance of his in last year's Grand Prix.

"Um, Victor..that means you must remember how horribly I did in last year's Grand Prix. I really messed up and ended up being in dead last." It was hard to admit, even harder doing it right in front of Victor who had won gold at that competition.

"I do remember that," Victor said simply, and Yuuri felt like dying but then he continued. "But, when I recall Yuuri Katsuki, I remember our time at the banquet, and how you really changed my world."

Wait, had he heard that right? Him, the skater who ranked dead last, changed Victor's world.

At Yuuri's look of disbelief, he continued. "You really did. I thought it was just going to be another boring banquet, just like the many others I've been to since my life has been so laid out for me and choices made for me, but then you started this dance off. And you were just so fun and made the banquet so much more enjoyable. I suppose I really felt something for you that night, and it wasn't just the grinding and pole dancing. I swear."

Before Yuuri could say anything else, he suddenly skated backwards towards the middle of the rink.

"I've seen how beautiful you can move your body and express yourself on the pole, but now I want to see how you do so on the ice. So, get your skates on and come join me."

Victor extended his hand out to him in an invitation to join him. Of course, Yuuri immediately dug through his duffel and began lacing his skates on and slipping his gloves on. Before, he had thought trying to keep his skating past a secret from Victor would be best to save him the embarrassment, but it turned out that he was the one being fooled. Even the amazing Victor Nikiforov remembered the Japanese skater that ranked dead last last year. Even if he didn't believe it himself, he was determined now to impress Victor anyway that he could if only for a moment.


	8. Chapter 8

Yuuri sighed as he sat on the ledge of the hill overlooking the beach with Victor. They had skated for a while, which basically consisted of each of them showing off what they could do. Yuuri had been rather nervous, knowing that Victor excelled in skating obviously, but it had actually been fun. It was early spring and most of the snow was beginning to melt, though there was still a chill to the air. Yuuri kept periodically looking over at Victor, trying to figure out what he wanted to say exactly.

"Say, Victor..you don't have to be my assistant coach or whatever position you said for the pole dancing stuff. I don't want your reputation, image, or name to get messed up because of me. I mean, you have a career and everything. I wouldn't want you to throw that all away just for some random skater from Japan. And you have a fan base. If news gets out that you're doing this, I think I'm going to have a lot of enemies."

Yuuri shivered at the thought of what people would say about him when they find out that Victor left to help coach a pole dancer.

Victor only smiled, moving his gaze over to the ocean in the distance.

"I'm starting to realize my own path because of you, Yuuri," he said suddenly. "From before last year, everything had been planned out for me, and like a unicorn, I was made out to be this mystical thing where I was only known for my skating. In a word, it was..suffocating. I was never allowed to branch out, and I guess I just accepted that after a while. But then I did that dance off with you at the banquet, and it made me realize that maybe I should start doing something I wanna do for once."

Victor slowly looked back to Yuuri and put his hand over Yuuri's that was resting by his side. The sudden warm touch made Yuuri nearly jump out of his skin.

"I know people won't like it and will wonder when I'll give this up and just go back to skating, but honestly, I could care less what they think. They'll just have to deal with this decision that I'm making. Right now, you're my top priority."

Yuuri nearly squeaked when Victor suddenly clasped their hands together. He really was serious, but..Yuuri never realized that that's how he felt about his own career. He certainly wouldn't want Victor to be unhappy.

"Okay, but for once, you probably know next to nothing about pole dancing, so you'll have to listen to Minako-sensei and share the coaching role with her. If you're sure about this, then I accept you as my assistant coach."

Yuuri knew just keeping Victor with him was enough to get him torn apart by fans and other skaters, so he might as well go for the gusto at this point.

"Yuuri! Thank you! I promise that Minako and I will make you the best pole dancer in all the land."

Victor happily hugged him, and as if that wasn't enough, he proceeded to rub his cheek against Yuuri's.

Yuuri's face went bright red as he put up with the close proximity as best he could.

"Alright! We might as well start as soon as possible..like right now! Come on, we're going for a run."

Yuuri was soon dragged to his feet, and he tried his best to keep up with Victor's fast pace as they ran down the street towards Minako's studio.

As usual, she greeted them in a cheery voice and a smile. Was she ever in a bad mood? Yuuri was thankful to be somewhere warm, breathing a sigh of relief and walked over towards a small section of lockers in the room. He always kept extra clothes and such just in case he forgot something.

"Say, Minako-sensei, what do people usually wear for these competitions?" he asked, pulling out a few spandex shorts he had.

"Let's see..the men usually go for the spandex shorts, something that still exposes their thighs so they can grip onto the pole. One of those should be fine," she said, looking over to him since she had been discussing a few things with Victor.

Yuuri nodded and went to change into the simple black ones with the light blue waistband along with a loose tank top. He gave Victor a glare when the other whistled at him when he walked back into the room. Lastly, he placed his glasses into the locker for safe keeping. He'd rather not have them flying off his face when he was practicing his spins on the pole.

"Alright, here's the tentative plan." Minako beckoned him over where her and Victor were standing by the pole. "There's a preliminary competition you'll have to go through to qualify for the world championships. Don't be fooled, it's a big one, and we'll want to make sure you're plenty prepared. We have about a month and half to prepare, and I want to use that time productively. So, I would like for you to come here for practice every day. With Victor's help, I'm going to put together an exercise and weight lifting regime for you. How does that all sound so far, Yuuri?"

"Difficult," Yuuri said honestly in a rather flat tone, "But I'll manage. It's needed after all to get me up to par to actually compete with others."

Yuuri groaned just thinking about how sore he'd be at first from doing this every day, not to mention before the competition, he'd somehow have to basically confess to his family that he's a pole dancer, and he performs and entertains men at a club in the city outside of town. He shook the thought out of his mind for now. The time would come for that, and right now, he just wanted to get practice underway.

"Do you want me to warm up with the basics?" Yuuri asked Minako, walking past the two and grabbing onto the pole, slowly spinning around with one leg wrapped around it.

"That sounds fine, Yuuri. Then, we can go through the kind of routine you want to do along with a song."

Yuuri spent a short time stretching his arms and legs, practicing a few splits. He noticed Victor's quite obvious staring as he did so and decided to get him back for it and seductively blew him a kiss before going back to the pole, smirking at how red the other's face became. Yuuri gracefully gripped onto the pole between his thighs, inching up towards the top and performing a few spins down. What he didn't noticed now that he was focused on that, was Victor with his phone out and obviously taking a selfie with Yuuri on the pole in the background. The picture was him winking with Yuuri in the process of his spinning, thighs with the pole snugly between them and hands folded behind his head. A smirk spread across his face as he quickly went to Instagram and didn't hesitate to post it with the caption: "Helping coach a rising pole dancing superstar!" In about two seconds, the likes were already flooding in along with a multitude of comments, but Victor made sure to close the app as soon as it was posted, discussing ideas with Minako on a possible routine. They both decided that it would be best for Yuuri to pick a song that he wanted, unless he insisted they do it.

After about half an hour of nonstop practice on the pole, Yuuri walked over to grab a towel, dabbing his face and taking the time to catch his breath. Taking a bit of a break, he went over to his phone, and his eyes went wide when it was filled with notifications, mostly from Instagram along with a few messages. His anticipation only increased when the first one from Instagram was Victor tagging him in a post.

"Victor," he said a little too calmly, slowly walking towards the other. "What exactly is this?"

"I wanted to take a selfie to announce what I'm doing to the world. I'm sure they were wondering if I just dropped off the face of the Earth or something."

"But you tagged me in it! Now, everyone knows the Instagram name of the one who's stealing you away." Yuuri thought his head was going to explode from the pressure he was feeling in it currently.

Well, it was the end for him, might as well see who messaged him. And of course it was from Phichit and Chris. Phichit's read: "Yuuri! I didn't know you were taking your pole dancing to the next level, and you got Victor too. I'm jealous."

Chris: "You're going for the World Championships in Tokyo, aren't you? I'll be there too."

Yuuri felt like everything was spinning around him as he had to take a seat on the floor.

"I'm dead, or I might as well be..now everyone knows. I can't imagine what they're calling me on there. I don't even want to look."

"Yuuri, it's not that bad. If it means anything, I'll defend you against anyone that wants to slander you," Victor said, kneeling by him and patting his shoulder. "Doesn't it give you a thrill? To have my full attention? If anything, you seduced me to the point where I packed my bags and left my home country to come see you."

Well, he did have a point. When he danced as Eros, he did get a thrill from keeping direct eye contact with Victor during his performances and savoring the flustered looks on his face, easily telling just how hard it was for Victor to keep eye contact with him and not let them wander to other parts of his body. It gave him a strange surge of power. Still, the entire world that adored Victor as a skater would probably reign down on him, calling him an incubus or something of the like that seduced Victor and stole him away.

"Well, I'm going to see you make up for pulling a stunt like that without telling me. And since the secret's out now, it's not like there's much to lose anymore."

Yuuri finally looked over at him. His face still took on a pale tone, and his limbs were still shaking, but his expression was a bit more determined.

"If you're going to be helping Minako coach me and possibly eventually take over as my coach, you'll need to know more about pole dancing basics. So, along with my practice, I'm going to teach you the basics of working the pole."

As always, Victor looked rather surprised at first but it soon settled into his usual playful expression. He really could never fully catch this man by surprise, could he?

"Alright, and you have my permission to take as many pictures of me as you want and post as many as you want. Might as well show off that you have me and no one else, right?"

Well, he held nothing back as usual. Did this man have any concept of embarrassment?

"Uh, yeah, that works," was all he managed to say.


	9. Chapter 9

Yuuri attempted to hold back a laugh when Victor walked back out wearing a borrowed pair of Yuuri's spandex shorts and a t-shirt. Compared to Yuuri's strong thighs, a necessary attribute for a pole dancer, and compared to his, Victor's looked like chicken legs. He still had toned legs and muscles, obviously, but Yuuri could tell he only did figure skating, something that didn't call for bulky muscles. And of course, Minako already had her phone out, ready to take pictures at a moment's notice. She would let Yuuri take over as teacher for today, giving Victor a crash course in the basics of pole dancing.

"You also have homework to learn about the different moves. There's no way I'm going through every one of them with you today. Plus, I have to work tonight, so my time is limited here," Yuuri said rather professionally, idly spinning around the pole.

"Oh, really? I'll have to come see you. Your new routine is just mesmerizing."

"Well, of course you can see me, but that still means you have homework."

With a smirk, he gestured Victor over with his finger, getting off the pole to leave it open for him. Victor happily scampered over like a puppy and eagerly awaited instructions from Yuuri, curiously feeling the pole with his hands.

"We'll start with how you actually grip onto the pole. It's about hugging the pole between your thighs. In pole dancing, most of your strength comes from your thighs holding you up, so watch me."

Yuuri proceeded to jump up and press his thighs together, easily gripping onto the pole, his form perfect as he slowly slid down and hopped off.

"Alright, let's see you try."

As Victor watched him, he thought it was easy enough and eagerly did what he watched Yuuri do. He hopped up and caught the pole between his thighs, but he either didn't quite have the strength or he wasn't gripping it tight enough because he was beginning to slide down it and gritted his teeth at the friction of the pole against the soft skin of his inner thighs. Minako wore a wide smile as she took a video of the whole thing, while Yuuri watched him with amusement.

"Now, you really gotta grip, Victor. I know your thighs aren't as bulky as mine, but even beginners can get this after a few tries, so don't give up," he encouraged, trying his best to be a good teacher, though he had to admit, this was very satisfying to watch.

"You make it look so easy, Yuuri," he whined, making a pouty face at him.

With another deep breath, he tried again even though his inner thighs were screaming in protest at the not so pleasant burning sensation there like he had a huge rug burn. After about three tries, he was able to stay up on the pole and at least stay in one spot without sliding, though now, it really felt like his thighs were on fire.

"Alright, good. You can at least stay on the pole." Yuuri flashed him a thumbs up and was trying to decide what Victor could handle next.

Within the next few hours, Yuuri managed to teach Victor how to spin with one leg wrapped around the pole as well as one called "Blade" where he hung upside down. Overall, he was rather impressed with how fast Victor learned, though it was obvious that his muscles weren't built for this kind of physically intensive work. Yuuri's been doing this for about half a year now, and his muscles were built like a pole dancer's. He remembered the first time he saw the club was holding auditions for dancers, and it was a rather well known club in the city. He remembered the look on the manager's face when he handed in an application and set up the date for his audition. He must not see guys like Yuuri coming in to become a dancer, not to mention they had more women dancers with only a few men, but he was definitely their new favorite with the amount of revenue he brought in each night he was there. Since Yuuri made it a point to bring in a new routine every week or so, people always anticipated going to see him, not to mention a chance to get some "one on one" time, which was always strictly business.

"Alright, I think your body's telling you to stop so that's good. You know, I'm quite impressed with how much you've been able to do for someone who's never been on a pole before. You can probably tell by now why my thighs are so big," he chuckled and offered Victor a hand since his legs seemed pretty wobbly.

Victor only nodded as he tried to walk forward. He wasn't very coordinated at the moment and didn't remember the slight ledge after the pole's platform. Yuuri spotted his leg slipping and instinctively lunged forward and caught Victor in his arms before the other could fall. It was almost like those moments in movies when the guy would catch the girl in his arms, and they stayed like that for a bit, mostly in shock of what just happened.

"Oh, uh, sorry, I should help you back up, right?" Yuuri chuckled nervously and got Victor back onto his feet with a sheepish grin.

"You two are so sappy," Minako commented, finally putting her phone down when she was satisfied with the amount of pictures and video from that. "Say, Yuuri, you should probably head off to work soon, right?"

Yuuri sighed and nodded as he looked at the clock. "Yeah, I do. This was really fun, though. I never expected being the teacher to be so entertaining, but you made good progress today, Victor."

Quickly, he changed back into his street clothes, slipping his phone into his jacket pocket. He'd have to stop by home and grab his outfit and such then take the bus to the club.

"I'll see you there, then," Victor said once he was also back in his street clothes. "You know I wouldn't miss one of your performances for the world. Plus, I love the song you dance to, an excellent choice by Minako."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Nikiforov," Minako teased and started to shoo them out. "Now, go on, I gotta close up shop."

"You know, you don't have to come every time I work, Victor," Yuuri sighed as they walked down the street back towards the hot spring resort.

"It'll be good for me as your assistant coach and one that's new to this whole pole dancing thing to watch how you move and your techniques, plus..I don't know. I feel a bit protective of you." Victor puffed out his cheeks a bit, looking over to the side as if to distract himself or just have his eyes elsewhere. He didn't like thinking about others, mainly older men, ogling Yuuri. It was a more upscale club, but still, there were a fair share of creeps. He knew Yuuri had been doing private dances and sessions for extra money and didn't seem to mind it, but Victor certainly minded. He hated thinking about others touching him like that.

"Well, you can do whatever you want. I won't stop you," Yuuri shrugged and announced that he was home when he opened the door only to quickly go to his room, grab his outfit and a duffel, and leave for the bus stop as soon as possible.

"I'll see you there!" Victor waved, frowning a bit as he watched him leave.

Yuuri was a hard one to read sometimes. He wanted to tell him just how he felt about him without seeming odd or making it awkward.

"Oh, Vicchan! Welcome back. Did Yuuri just leave for work?" Hiroko walked out, wiping a bit of sweat off her brow as she had just been in the kitchen.

"Yeah, he did. Sorry, he kind of left in a flash."

"It's alright. That's what he usually does. I'll be sure to leave some leftovers for him when he gets back. Why don't you join us for dinner? Yuuri works late anyway, so you can go see him after you eat." She motioned for Victor to join her, Mari, and Toshiya. Minako ended up joining them once she had closed up her studio.

Dinner was lovely and Victor ate whatever was put on his plate. She had even made him his own katsudon since she knew how much he loved those. Victor admired Yuuri's family very much. They were all so loving and cared about Yuuri. He was quite lucky to have a family like that. Seeing how this opened an opportunity, Victor went ahead and asked.

"Say, Hiroko, has Yuuri ever dated anyone? Or has he been in a romance before?" He hoped it didn't seem like an odd question, but he couldn't think of anyone better to ask besides Yuuri's own mother.

She smiled warmly at him but shook her head. "The only one I can recall that Yuuri had a crush on was his rink mate Yuko, but she's married now. He's never been with someone as far as I know." She wore a little smirk but didn't pry as to why Victor wanted to know.

Victor nodded slowly, taking in what she said. "Okay, thank you. That helps me a lot."

Once he finished up dinner, he excused himself, slipping his jacket back on and taking a cab over to the club. He knew Yuuri usually started his routine around 8 or so, so he should make it just in time.

Yuuri was mentally preparing himself for the performance as he put on a bit of foundation to even out his skin tone in the mirror. Ever since last night where he debuted the new routine, the room had been even more packed than usual. If Victor was going to show up, part of him hoped he could find a spot.

 _Why should I care if he shows up or not?_

He tried snapping himself out of it and finished up just in time as he was being called to the stage. He stretched a bit as he walked over there, trying to get himself back into the Eros state of mind. He took his usual starting position of wrapping one leg around the pole and giving the audience a seductive look. Instinctively, his eyes started to search for Victor in the crowd. He breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted him near the front, a bit squished between two big guys. He flashed Yuuri a thumbs up, and Yuuri felt his thumping heart still just at seeing him. He wore a confident smile once the song began, starting by walking around the pole until the main beat started and jumped up, starting with an upside down spin, letting his body go with the music. Throughout the performance, he tried to look elsewhere but he always found his gaze going back and meeting Victor's.

Victor noted how Yuuri's outfit sparkled underneath the lights and how smoothly his body moved as if it was meant to tell the story the lyrics were conveying in the song as well as how incredibly sexy he looked with his hair slicked back like that. He wondered if Yuuri used a bit of mascara because those dark lashes were practically smoldering. He was like some kind of handsome nightingale.

Once Yuuri finished his performance and was now wandering around the club floor, Victor noticed someone approach him before he could and felt a sharp twinge of jealousy. He looked obviously older, and he felt the intense need to swoop in and protect Yuuri.

The man was excitedly asking for a private session with Yuuri, willing to pay handsomely. Yuuri was ready to accept when Victor suddenly intervened, placing a hand on his shoulder with a firm grip and suddenly steered Yuuri away towards the back.

"Victor! What are you doing? That was a potential customer," Yuuri snapped, ripping himself out of Victor's grip and was surprised to see how red the other's face was.

"Don't worry about the money. I'll pay for a session with you, so..to make up for that..do to me whatever it is you do to them in a private session," he blurted out, face going even redder.

This was something he's always wanted, or maybe not this exactly, but ever since he first met Yuuri, he's wanted to at least kiss him. After a bit of thinking on Yuuri's part, he finally nodded.

"Alright, I'll make it worth your while."

If it was just some random client, he wouldn't be nervous at all, but this was Victor..his idol, who basically wanted a make out session and possibly more with him. It should be a dream come true, but he couldn't seem to calm his pounding heart.

"Follow me." He led Victor into a back room that was used for these purposes, shutting the curtains behind them.

The room was quite extravagant. It reminded Victor of some luxurious tent in a circus. The sequins in the curtains sparkled each time there was a slight movement.

"So, um, where do I..?" Victor stood there, waiting for Yuuri to tell him where to go.

"That chair over there." Yuuri gestured for him to sit in it while he fixed up his hair in a nearby mirror.

"Right..chair.."

Victor felt his hands shaking as he sat there and waited for Yuuri. He couldn't help but let his eyes wander over his body: those perfect legs, how snugly his ass fit in that spandex, and how the straps hugged his hips. Yuuri himself was trying to get control of his own limbs. He felt stiff even though his muscles were still warm and rather relaxed from just doing his routine. Finally, he managed to waddle over to Victor and plopped himself into his lap, straddling him. The two of them weren't exactly sure what to do. They both stared at each other with equally red faces and unsure expressions.

"You've..been wanting this since the banquet, haven't you?"

Seeing how equally flustered Victor was did give him a bit of confidence if only a little. Usually this place was strictly business, and it was a place where Yuuri felt a lot of power over his clients. That was definitely the opposite with Victor here instead. The room had a whole different energy to it, like this moment was bound to happen but he never expected it to be like this.

"You know me too well, Yuuri," Victor said softly before leaning in closer. "You know, I've been searching for you ever since that banquet. With how much I searched until I found that video of you pole dancing, some say I was obsessed, while others would call it something like love."

"Is that so?" Yuuri muttered before he couldn't say anymore as their lips slowly met until they were kissing.


	10. Chapter 10

"I don't want to do this with you in a place like this," Victor said suddenly, gently pushing Yuuri back so he could look at him. "I-I swear..I do want this. I mean, really I do, but I'd like somewhere more meaningful, intimate, and personal, you know? I know you don't want a lecture, but I really don't think you should do this 'private' business. I know you say the furthest you ever go is oral, but isn't just the money you make from working the pole enough? I mean, if it was found out that you were doing this back door, private sort of business, you could get in trouble."

Yuuri gave him a confused look, not expecting this at all. Did Victor really care about him that much? He never thought of this stuff as a big deal, but it seemed entirely different to Victor.

"You don't..want to do this? I thought this was what you wanted. You're always eying my body."

"It's true that you do have a nice body..very nice, but that's not all I want you for. I have..feelings for you, you know? I care about you, and I don't want you to end up getting hurt or in trouble from this. I already bought the whole slot for your shift, so why don't we head back to the resort and eat some katsudon if your mom will be so gracious as to make some for us. We have been working hard today. I say we've earned it."

The confused expression on Yuuri's face didn't seem to change, but he finally nodded slowly and slid off Victor. He couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the slight bulge in his pants.

"Hmm, looks like I really did excite you, didn't I? I'll see how many tips I make tomorrow night, and maybe..just maybe I'll go without any 'servicing.'"

He didn't want to worry Victor. After all, he felt..a lot of things for him. He'd been idolizing the guy since he was a kid, but like hell he was just going to outright say that. Yuuri tried not to show it, but hearing that his dream guy basically said he had feelings for him, which no doubt meant romantic ones, made Yuuri feel indescribably happy.

He rode the bus back with Victor once he had changed back into his street clothes. He kept peering over at him with a little smile, feeling oddly joyful, which was odd since he was usually dead tired and done with everything.

"Ah, Yuuri! You're back earlier than usual. And Vicchan! Welcome back," Hiroko greeted them when they walked in.

Yuuri waved with a small hi and ducked over to his room to quickly put away the duffel with his outfit in it. He still wasn't sure how to bring up the whole pole dancing thing to his mom, but he knew he'd have to before the competition. It was no doubt televised or streamed on the Internet, and she'd come across it somehow, probably from Minako. Yuuri would rather let them know himself instead of having them find out about it. Who knows how that would go. When he came back out, Yuuri smelled the familiar scent of a katsudon and followed where he heard voices into the lounge area.

"Yuuri! Over here!" Victor was sitting at a table with Minako.

While waiting, the three of them discussed strategies for training until the first competition. It mainly involved strength training for Yuuri since he already had a good grasp of moves on the pole. It was mostly about keeping himself up on it longer. Victor also had to study pole dancing so he was more familiar with the different kinds of moves and techniques. Yuuri's working at the club also helped in getting him better at performing in front of an audience.

Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief once the katsudons arrived, thanking his mom before digging in. He was always hungry after his shifts and was thankful to have a break from all the lectures and planning. Right now, he didn't really want to think much about training and such until tomorrow. All he wanted to do was eat and go right to sleep, always quite exhausted when he came home, even at an earlier time like this. Plus, Victor's confession to him left him with things to think about and consider. It was best to be alone in bed where he could think clearly without distractions.

He politely excused himself once he was finished, giving Victor a pat on the shoulder before getting up with a groan as he stretched out his stiff limbs. Lastly, he hugged his mom, saying goodnight and headed off to his room. He stripped down to just his boxers and laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

 _What does Victor mean to me?_

That was one of the many questions on his mind at the moment. He certainly admired Victor as a skater and may have possibly fantasized about him many, many times. But now that Victor was here and would be helping with coaching him in pole dancing of all things, Yuuri wasn't sure what to do. This should be simpler, shouldn't it? Victor had basically confessed his feelings for him..in a way. But Yuuri couldn't help but think about what others would think. If he agreed to be with Victor, Victor's reputation could be at stake. Rumors would spread around of Victor dating another figure skater oh and he happens to also be a pole dancer. He knew it shouldn't matter, but he couldn't help but think about that as he always seemed to overthink things. Finally, he decided that he'd ultimately leave it up to Victor. For now, he had to focus on his training and getting ready for the competition that was coming up in roughly a month and a half. After a few hours, he was finally able to fall asleep, slipping into his dreams and pushing the doubt away for the moment.

For the next month and a half, Yuuri focused solely on training and going to his shifts at the club. As he promised Victor, he only performed on the pole and did lap dances out on the floor to anyone who paid but quit the back room business for now. He still managed to make an ample amount of money in tips, especially since he was really stepping up his routine with the added training. Earlier, they had to decide on a specific routine for the competition and what music should be used. It was Victor who suggested they use a theme he was going to use for a future skating routine. It was called On Love: Eros, a theme about sexual love.

"You want me to pole dance to a theme you were going to use on the ice? Really?" Yuuri had given him an unamused expression.

"Just listen to it and see if you like it."

From the start, Yuuri was completely not on board with the idea, but once he had listened to it, and the three of them began to brainstorm some choreography to go with it. Yuuri found the more he practiced and tried out some new choreography and techniques with it, the more he was really loving the theme.

"Beautiful, Yuuri! Absolutely stunning. You're going to be rocking that competition! And it's a preliminary one, so it should be easy for you," Minako praised as they went through a few run throughs of the final routine.

It was the way Victor was watching him that was making Yuuri blush and almost completely slip off the pole when he executed a spin. It was something about those blue eyes watching him so intently that sometimes made him lose focus as his mind went elsewhere.

"Well, it's almost perfect," Minako sighed but shook it off with a chuckle. "Just stay focused, Yuuri. I don't want you flying off the pole in the middle of your routine."

"Yes, Minako-sensei," Yuuri sighed and got back on his feet.

Victor then walked up to him and reached out to gently swipe a stray bang out of Yuuri's face without any hesitation.

"I hope I'm not too distracting for you."

"Uh, n-not at all! I just lost my focus there for a second."

During the past month things had been going..interesting with Victor. Ever since his little love confession to Yuuri, there had been a strange sort of tension between them like one was waiting for the other to say or do something. Finally, one night when him and Victor were at the studio late by themselves, Victor had walked up to Yuuri after he had practiced the routine a few times. He was having difficulty with a new move and was growing rather frustrated when Victor gently cupped his cheek and kissed him right there.

"Focus, Yuuri. I know you can do this. Don't overthink it. Just let your body move as it wants to."

Ever since then he'd been kissing him more often and going on little outings of what most would call dates. Yuuri had been meaning to ask him outright what this all meant, like if they were together officially or what this was, but for now, it was a mystery. He made it a point to ask him before the competition that was coming up in two days now. He certainly didn't want to be confused or unfocused during that. He needed to know what he meant to Victor, if he was just going to be a random fling or if this really was something bigger. His performance counted on clearing this doubt.

That night, Yuuri invited Victor on a walk by the ocean. The sidewalk along the beach was lit up and was a lovely route to take in the evening. The two remained quiet for a while, Victor admiring the ocean in the distance while Yuuri was thinking hard on what he should say. He needed to say it right to get his point across, no confusion whatsoever.

"So, why'd you want to go our here, Yuuri? Just felt like a walk?" Victor asked suddenly.

Was this guy telepathic or something? Yuuri immediately tensed up, face heating up as he slowly met Victor's gaze. How was he going to ask this?

"Um, well, yeah. I did bring us out here for a reason. I..wanted to ask you something. It's something pertaining to us..our relationship." He hoped Victor would know where he was going and maybe help him out. Yuuri wasn't always the best with communication.

Victor cocked his head at the response, taking in what Yuuri had said.

"About us? What did you want to ask?"

"Well, um, we've kissed a lot, and you've been taking me out on little dates, I mean, at least I think they're dates. You've confessed feelings for me before, so I'm wondering..are we dating or together in that way? I'm just a bit confused on that."

Okay, that was pretty good. He said it nice and clear, so hopefully there wouldn't be any confusion.

Victor blinked a few times and stopped walking. He wore a warm smile and took both of Yuuri's hands in his.

"I've watched you develop your skills and routine with my Eros theme for this past month and a half, and you've worked so hard. If you'd like, I'd like to call you..my boyfriend..perhaps, unless there's another term you'd prefer me to use. I do enjoy our time together. I just didn't want that to be a distraction while you were training so hard. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Yuuri could hardly believe what he was hearing. Did he really just say that? He was just absolutely amazed that someone like Victor would be asking some nobody like Yuuri to be his boyfriend. Just a dime a dozen skater and pole dancer.

"Y-yeah, that's actually exactly what I wanted to hear. Thank you. And I'd love for you to be my boyfriend. I've, uh, never had one before, so forgive me if I'm rather inexperienced with that."

To Yuuri, Victor's laugh was something magical, maybe one of the purest things he's ever heard. It was whimsical, like a fairy in a story. Yuuri wore a giddy little smile and laughed along with him. They continued their walk, happily swinging their arms around, and Yuuri pointed out various things in the scenery to Victor. This seemed almost too simple. Asking someone out should be more complicated, right? But to Yuuri, it felt..right, like this was always meant to be. It was an odd feeling to say the least, and hopefully this would make his Eros routine even better in this upcoming competition. They finished up their little walk by sitting on a pier and watching the huge full moon up above them, casting its faint light upon them and the town of Hasetsu.


	11. Chapter 11

Yuuri leaned against the taxi, waiting for Victor and Minako to finish up gathering their things. He let out a long sigh as he glanced up at the sky. It was something he always seemed to do when thinking about something. He was still a bit unsure about all this. What if he flopped like in figure skating? Then he could say he wasn't only a failure in figure skating but also competitive pole dancing, gee what a combo that would be. However, Victor seemed to have faith in him, so maybe, just maybe, that would get him through.

"Victor! Minako-sensei! Come on, we've been waiting for like fifteen minutes now," Yuuri shouted impatiently.

He felt bad for the poor taxi driver that would probably like to be making money right now. Finally, Victor emerged from the resort with his bags, and Minako came running down the street.

"Sorry, we're late!" They both apologized with a bow and packed their things into the trunk.

"Honestly, I told you guys the time the taxi was coming like ten times yesterday, but you're here now, so I suppose that's all that matters."

Minako took the passenger seat while Victor and Yuuri sat in the back. He was thankful for that so he wouldn't have to be squished between the two of them. The preliminary competition was in Tokyo as well, so they'd be taking the train most of the way there. Minako was the one holding all of their tickets and such. Yuuri hoped he could trust her not to lose any of them.

"You nervous, Yuuri?" Victor asked, sliding his hand over Yuuri's and giving a reassuring squeeze.

"Well, yeah, obviously. I'm going to be dancing on a pole in front of way more people than usual, though this time it'll be about athletic ability more than looking sexy anyway," Yuuri replied, faintly smiling at the little squeeze. Victor's touch did reassure him a bit, though he couldn't seem to stop feeling somewhat nervous.

"Think you'll see anyone you know here?"

"God, I hope not, well, for this one at least. This one is mostly regional. I'm sure I'll probably see Chris at the World Championship. There's no doubt about that. He knows some pretty advanced moves," Yuuri chuckled and leaned against Victor for comfort. "Let's hope I can keep it together with you watching me."

They arrived at the station, Yuuri having to show Victor how scanning the tickets and finding the right train worked. As they were seated in the train, Yuuri absent mindingly stared out the window, looking at the other trains in the station with a blank stare. Obviously, his mom was wondering where exactly he was going and what he was doing going all the way to Tokyo, and a few days ago, he basically confessed to what he had been doing since the Grand Prix, which was not working at a late night store and was pole dancing at a club, one of their most popular performers. Because he had well developed skills in that, a good way to stay in shape for this off season would be a pole dancing competition going on in Tokyo. He had sent videos of himself performing for the preliminary competition and got in. His face was beet red the whole time as he told her this, not able to look her in the eyes and taking to glancing at the floor. He expected either shock or a scolding for lying, but he should've known better. Of course, she was surprised to hear he hadn't been truthful about where he worked, but to Yuuri's surprise, she said she used to do a bit of pole dancing when she was younger. Not for very long since it had been a little hobby, but she was happy that Yuuri would be using those skills in a competition. Of course, she wanted to make sure he was staying safe with dancing at the club. Yuuri assured her that no client was allowed to touch him, choosing to leave out the back room business he used to do. He wasn't sure if her heart could take hearing that. He left with Victor and Minako feeling a little better since he had gotten that off his chest.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when the train started moving, watching the scenery from the window get faster and faster as the train took on speed.

"So, how did the talk with your mom go, Yuuri?" Minako asked, looking up from the magazine she was reading or maybe more like pretending to read to make herself look busy.

"Oh, it went fine. She was pretty understanding as she usually is."

"Yeah, sounds like Hiroko. Did she tell you she used to a bit of the ol' pole dancing?" she snickered at how red Yuuri's face became.

"Um, y-yeah. She did." Yuuri cleared his throat to prevent his voice from cracking, desperately wanting to find a distraction like a magazine or something.

"Oh, really, Yuuri? That's awesome! So, that's where you got your skills from." Victor looked a little too impressed.

"Uh, I think my skills are more of an I trained my body kind of thing. I don't think pole dancing skills are like a gene or anything."

Honestly, these two could be so ridiculous sometimes. Yuuri sighed happily as he settled into his seat more. They were ridiculous, but they were good company, and Yuuri was glad to be travelling with them, even if he was incredibly embarrassed and nervous to be performing a routine on the pole in front of not only the people there, but anyone watching the event. He had no doubt that it was televised or streamed over the Internet somehow. He knew the routine well. He had some confidence that he'd do well at least in this first competition, though the actual World Championship was much more daunting, plus there might be a few people there that will recognize him, knowing Chris was going to be there. He wouldn't miss something like this for the world. Victor glanced over when he noticed that Yuuri went quiet, gently nudging his shoulder.

"Hey, you nervous, Yuuri?" Victor asked, knowing the answer was obvious by the way Yuuri looked over at him like "oh, you think?"

"Well, yeah, why wouldn't I be? I'm just going to pole dance in front of..a lot of people. I know it's not the same kind of pole dancing as in the club. I'm dancing to show off my skills and strengths, but still..it's quite daunting. If I fail this, who knows if I'll even be able to bring myself to even skate again."

"Come on, Yuuri. Of course, you'll skate again. Maybe you'll even be able to skate with me. Think of doing a paired skate routine with me. You could make that a goal." That was often something Victor had been fantasizing about ever since that banquet, such as a romantic does.

Yuuri nearly spit out the coffee he was drinking. "P-paired skate? With you? I..I don't know if I'll ever be skilled enough to do that."

He did have to admit though, a paired skate with Victor would be like a dream come true, but he doubted it could ever even happen. Thinking about skating with Victor on the ice as an equal was even more daunting than this upcoming competition.

"Hm, never say never, Yuuri," Victor chuckled and leaned against the other. "Let's see if you can impress me with this as much as you impress me with your skating."

With a sigh, Yuuri wrapped an arm around Victor and took to staring out the window again. Victor was lucky he was cute because he could be so ridiculous sometimes, though he never failed to make Yuuri smile even if it was just a little bit.

"Yeah, sure, you dork," was his reply.

Hours later, they finally arrived in Tokyo, taking another cab to their hotel. Minako got one room, while Yuuri and Victor got another one. It was decent and upscale. Yuuri froze when he saw that they had gotten a room with only one bed. Granted, it was a large queen sized one, but still. He groaned slightly, knowing Minako had probably done this on purpose.

"Don't worry, I'll let you have your own side," Victor promised with a smirk, setting his bags down on the bed.

"Ugh, fine. I guess sleeping in the same bed as you isn't terrible," he teased, giving him a look as he walked past him and did the same.

Right now, Yuuri just wanted to take a warm bath and a nice nap. Even though all he had been doing was mostly sitting, travelling always seemed to drain him. Being the energetic puppy Victor usually was, of course he started gushing about how Yuuri, Minako, and him should hit up a bar, and they should check out the shops and the night life scene. The actual competition wasn't until the day after tomorrow with a practice session scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.

"Sure, that sounds fun, but let's just relax for a bit, okay? I really want to take a bath and feel clean and maybe a nap too. You don't want me falling asleep at the bar, right?"

"Of course! You do all the self-pampering you want!" Victor's eyes lit up when Yuuri said yes, half expecting him to refuse since the competition was coming up.

Yuuri went over to the bathroom and smiled happily when he saw how big the tub was. He went in to turn the water on, getting it nice and warm before plugging the drain, allowing it time to fill up. Yuuri had started to strip, not realizing that the door to the bathroom was still open and caught a glimpse of a wide eyed Victor with jaw dropped staring at him. It took Victor a few seconds to register that Yuuri was staring back and quickly diverted his gaze elsewhere.

"Uh, sorry. I'll close the door for you," he said quickly and pushed the door closed.

He had to fan himself as he walked over to the bed and turned on the TV. It's not like he hadn't seen Yuuri half-naked before. They were completely naked when in the hot spring together, but that was a much different atmosphere. This one was much more private..a bit more intimate. The hot spring, the banquet, and pole dancing were the only times he had seen more of Yuuri's body but watching him strip his clothes off was different, and it easily made Victor's heart beat faster.

 _Settle down, Victor. He was just getting ready for a bath._

That Yuuri. He was a dangerous one. He could go from adorable nerd to an unrelenting force of sex appeal, a raven-haired beauty, in an instant. It made even someone as confident as Victor, extremely weak.

Yuuri chose to wear his contacts for going out with Victor and Minako. If they did end up going to a club, he didn't want to end up losing his glasses in a crowd. He made sure to tell the both of them that he was only going to have one drink, so Victor better pick him out a good one. He had an inkling sort of feeling in his stomach that he'd end up regretting this somehow, but hey, might as well have fun being over in the big city. If he was going to let loose, tonight was the best night for that.

"Then, it's settled. There's a highly-rated night club down the street. What better way to celebrate our first night in Tokyo than there?" Minako clapped her hands together and led the other two along out of the hotel and down the sidewalk. Yuuri couldn't help but feel a bit anxious as they got closer, and he could see different colored lights inside. This place looked about the same size and maybe even a little bigger than the club he worked at, and he wasn't very familiar with this city. It was Victor's little squeeze on his shoulder that seemed to calm him a bit.

"Hey, don't worry, Yuuri. We're going to have fun. I promise."

With a faint smile and a nod, Yuuri took a few deep breaths and continued to follow Minako with Victor right by his side.


	12. Chapter 12

The building was separated by the actual nightclub area with a dance floor and lounge seating all around and then the main bar area. Of course, Minako headed straight for the bar, encouraging Yuuri and Victor to follow. Yuuri planned to stick by his limit of one drink. He didn't want any kind of repeat of what happened at the banquet and made Victor promise to stop him if he tried to drink after already having one. As they sat at the bar, Victor seemed much more interested in the nightclub part. Yuuri kept noticing him glancing over in that direction every so often.

"You're more of a party boy, aren't you?" Yuuri said as he sipped on some sake that Minako had bought.

"The nightclub just seems so much fun! We could go dancing, and I can see the lights from under the door," Victor said excitedly, clasping his hands together at the idea.

Yuuri definitely wasn't the type to think of a dancefloor with flashing lights and people bumping into each other as fun, but it seemed to be something Victor rather enjoyed. He tried to remain resilient, but he was weak to Victor's puppy dog eyes.

"Ugh, fine. We can go into the nightclub part. Is that alright, Minako-sensei?" Yuuri turned to her, not wanting to just leave her behind at the bar, but it looked like that wouldn't be much of a problem. She was already talking loudly and had a bunch of people hanging around.

"Oh, yeah! You boys go have fun!"

That was all the permission Victor needed as he started dragging Yuuri off to the other side. The atmosphere seemed to change immediately as they entered the nightclub, having to show their ID's before going into the main area. As Yuuri suspected, it was about the same size as the club he worked at. In the middle, a glow with different colored lights, mostly of cold colors like blues and purples along with a strobe every now and then was a dance floor already quite crowded. The bass boosted EDM music pumped through the large speakers surrounding it. To the left, was lounge seating and another bar where people could sit and drink. To the right were the poles with various dancers going with whatever music was playing over the main speakers.

"Woah, what a place, huh, Yuuri? Of course, it'd be even better if you were dancing. Hey, maybe they'll have an amateur time coming up where you could show off your skills," he winked and playfully elbowed him before dragging Yuuri along as he took his own little tour to get familiar with the place.

In his shirt and due to the body heat radiating from the dance floor, Yuuri found himself beginning to sweat a bit. It was a good thing he was wearing a light tank top under it, so he could always ditch the heavier shirt if needed. The only thing he was really worried about was running into anyone they knew..

"Well, well, well, hey Victor, Yuuri. Did you two just stop in?"

Yuuri nearly shrieked out loud as he heard his voice called in that deep, smooth voice that he recognized nearly instantly. He slowly turned around to find the green eyed, blonde Swede. Yuuri found himself blushing as he recalled from the photos and videos what they did together at the banquet.

"Chris! I didn't expect to see you here, though I suppose I should've expected it since you're here for the World Championships," Victor spoke up, waving to Chris and pulling Yuuri along with him.

"Same to you. I already qualified for the World Championships. I expected Yuuri since I saw him on the list of tentative competitors. Seems he has to get a preliminary competition out of the way first, but you're quite unexpected, Victor. You really did fall in love with how he dances around the pole, huh?"

"That's right! His ballet instructor, Minako has been coaching him in pole dancing for a while, so she's the main coach. I'm his assistant coach of sorts since I'm still sort of new to the whole pole dancing scene. So, you and Yuuri will be competitors. That's exciting!" Victor patted Yuuri's back with a proud look on his face.

"Indeed. I can't wait to see what kind of new moves he'll bring to the table. I've seen videos people have taken of his performances. He's quite entrancing. Eros is a fitting stage name."

"Uh, th-thanks, Chris! Your routines are fantastic too. You know some pretty advanced moves, like I wish my body could move like that," Yuuri chuckled. He was still nervous but had at least gotten over the initial shock of Chris finding them here.

"Your beauty is in your raw strength and power, Yuuri. With that, you can bring anyone to their knees, me and Victor included." Chris winked and motioned for them to follow him over to a set of black leather couches. "Shall I order us a round of drinks? What do you guys want? Round of shots maybe?"

Yuuri thought about if he should for a second. He really had only had a sip of sake before Victor had dragged him off, so a couple shots should be fine.

"Sure, order a round of shots. It's not every day we get to see you after all," Yuuri spoke up, making the other two exchange looks and raise their eyebrows at him. "What? Don't tell me you wouldn't jump at the chance to take shots with me, Victor~"

That certainly got him. Victor's face went nearly completely red as he quickly nodded to Chris. "Shots sound good. I trust you'll pick out some good ones for us, Chris."

Chris wore a smirk as he got up to make his way to the bar. "My, you already have him wrapped around your finger, Yuuri," he said with a wink before walking over there, having to politely push past a few groups of people.

"So, what's with this sudden change in attitude, Yuuri? I already know you have an inner party animal, but as far as I know, you're sober," Victor asked curiously.

The red on his cheeks was slowly starting to fade to a light shade, though he still felt heat radiating from them. Yuuri certainly was a curious one. Sometimes it was difficult just to tell what he was thinking.

"I figure I might as well have some fun since you love this kind of stuff so much. Plus, with Chris around, he's not going to let us just sit around. I'm used to club scenes from obviously working at one. So, after shots, I'd be willing to join you on the dancefloor." Yuuri was trying to maintain a calm, cool outside, though his heart was pounding on the inside. He still was rather nervous around crowds, though working at a club made him more used to scenes like this, and it did make him happy to see Victor enjoying himself.

"Well, I'd love to dance with you if that's what you want."

It must've been the lights in this place, but Victor's eyes and hair seemed to shimmer under them, and music certainly did build up the mood. He felt his heart pounding but in a good way, an excited way. It was a similar sensation he got on the stage while he was enthralling the audience with how gracefully he moved on the pole. It was in the way he'd give lap dances, and the bit of thrill of power he got when he looked in their desperate eyes at knowing they weren't allowed to touch him. Chris arriving with a round of shots broke him from his daze, and he looked down the line of little glasses filled with liquids of different shades.

"This half are vodkas and the other tequilas. You two can take your first picks."

Yuuri made a promise to himself that he'd stick to two only, maybe a third depending on how he felt after the two. He did want to feel a bit more relaxed but not too tipsy. He'd be moving on the dancefloor after all, and he needed to keep in control. He picked out one vodka and one tequila. He snickered to himself as he noticed how intently both Chris and Victor watched him. He supposed it was rather unusual to see Yuuri Katsuki about to down a shot. He looked to the two of them with a smirk before downing the vodka one. He kept his eyes closed for a moment as he felt the rather harsh burn in his throat, but it soon passed, and he felt a bit of warmth in his stomach.

"Wow, Yuuri, not bad," Chris commented before picking one out and raising it to Yuuri and Victor before downing it.

Yuuri looked to Victor expectantly. "I believe it's your turn, isn't it?"

"Oh, uh, so it is," Victor laughed, clearing his throat before following suit with Yuuri and Chris with the vodka. "Ah, excellent choice as always, Chris."

Yuuri took one more and called that his limit, refusing anymore, leaving Chris and Victor to finish the rest. Yuuri found it quite cute how Victor hiccupped slightly after his fourth one. With the added warmth from the alcohol, Yuuri suddenly tugged his shirt off, revealing his black tank top underneath. Not really knowing what else to do with it, he tied the shirt around his waist by the arms, sighing in relief at the cool feeling on his bare arms and shoulders. The other two looked at him wide eyed, though Chris smirked and did the same thing.

"Hey, good idea, Yuuri. It is getting rather hot in here."

Victor, in his V-neck and nothing underneath it, chose to keep his shirt on. Now, Yuuri remembered overhearing Victor being called this, and he wondered how the Russian would react to being called it by Yuuri. His aim tonight was to see how flustered he could make Victor since Victor always seemed to be the one making advances on Yuuri, though he was polite about it.

"Vitya~ Let's hit the dancefloor already," he playfully whined, tugging on Victor's arm.

That got him. The blush crept back on his face, and he froze up completely, limbs going stiff at just hearing that. They were just words, but it felt like something much more intimate. He never expected that to come out of Yuuri's mouth. It was a simple nickname that Yakov often called him, but just the way Yuuri said it, the tone he used. He made it sound like some sexy pet name the way it rolled off his tongue with his Japanese accent. It didn't help when he looked over at Chris and saw the other winking at him with a knowing smirk.

"Dance floor sounds fun. Let's go!" Chris said rather enthusiastically and started heading that way.

Still in a state of shock, Victor let Yuuri drag him along down there. The music was much louder down here, and it was all they could hear around them. They had switched from EDM to indie rock songs with a rather driving beat. Without much hesitation, Yuuri began to move his hips, letting the beat take over as he did during his performances. He chuckled when he looked behind him to see Victor standing there frozen and simply watching his hips, trying his best to resist the urge to stare at Yuuri's ass, though it was obvious that he was failing miserably. It was no use talking since he'd basically have to try to yell over the music so he continued to dance and sauntered over to Victor, going right up against him and began to grind on him, guiding Victor's hands down to his swishing hips.

"You gotta loosen up a bit, Vitya," he whispered by his ear, sweetly cupping his cheek before going back at it.

He closed his eyes and let the music control his body. It must be working because eventually he felt Victor loosen up and begin to move with him, grip tightening on Yuuri's hips. It sent a tremor down his spine when he felt Victor's warm fingers glide up to caress the skin under his tank top slightly.

"Look what you're doing to me, Yuuri," he whispered by his ear in a lusty whisper.

It's not like Victor should be surprised. He knew Yuuri was capable of moving like this. He was a pole dancer after all. It gave Yuuri a surge of power to know he was having such an effect on Victor. He removed Victor's hands from his hips so he could dip down to a crouch then back up to standing, slowly swishing his hips to and fro the entire way. Teasingly he walked away, then turned around to face Victor, wagging his finger, gesturing the other to follow him. Victor obediently followed him, walking over to where the poles were. He could already see Chris at it, impressing everyone around with his moves. It seemed they cleared the poles for anyone who wanted to try or show off what they could do. He had Victor sit on the edge of one of the little stages.

"Watch," was all he said as he stripped to his boxers and gripped onto the pole.

This was different from the banquet. Then, he had been completely drunk and did it for attention and to impress others. Right now, he only had two shots in him, still aware and in control of what he was doing. This was all for Victor.

They arrived back to their hotel room with Yuuri nearly completely exhausted. He leaned against Victor while downing a water bottle. He had expended a lot of energy dancing on that pole. It was all for Victor, but of course, it had attracted a small crowd of people who were thoroughly impressed with what he could do. He left out the part of "Yeah, I'm a pole dancer." He had gotten so into it, that he tired himself out and had to rely on Victor to lean on as they walked back to the hotel. To passersby, he probably looked drunk but indeed, it was just exhaustion.

"You know, you didn't have to show off that much," Victor chuckled and sat Yuuri down on the couch.

"I wanted to impress you," Yuuri replied inbetween breaths. "I just need a little break. I'm not done yet."

"Not done yet? You know, I remember how eagerly you started to grind up on me. Is there something else you want to do now that we're alone?" Victor asked in a low tone.

He kicked off his shoes and sat on the edge of the bed with a rather smug look, waiting for Yuuri's answer.

Yuuri had predicted something like this would happen, especially after that dance floor scene; in fact, it's what he was hoping for, getting him all hot and bothered like that.

"I could feel you getting a stiffy just from my grinding on you. So, tell me, do you still have it?"

Yuuri's dark eyes looked him up and down before slowly walking over there, crawling when he got close. He placed his hands on Victor's knees and rested his chin on Victor's left thigh. "Aren't you going to answer my question, Vitya?"


	13. Chapter 13

And just when Victor thought his face couldn't get any redder, Yuuri just had to be all sexy like that. He didn't exactly hear what Yuuri had asked until he heard "Vitya" again, and his attention was immediately drawn back to him. He nearly groaned at the creeping, electric feeling of Yuuri's hand gliding along his thigh.

"Uh, y-yeah..I still have it..obviously," he gulped. "I mean, with the way you were dancing, how could I not?"

That earned a smirk from Yuuri as he checked just in case, palming Victor's crotch without much hesitation.

"Ah, so you do. I'm glad. You know, that's very flattering, and you're cute when you're blushing like that. I wonder if your cock is just as flushed."

God, all the filthy things coming out of Yuuri's mouth was probably one of the hottest things Victor had ever experienced. It left him speechless and nearly powerless as all he could do was watch Yuuri start to slowly unbutton his pants.

"Yuuri," he whispered, reaching down to comb his fingers through Yuuri's soft hair.

"This is long overdue, don't you think? I..I want to wait to go further, but I can manage this at least. So, I hope you enjoy it."

Victor only nodded, finding words to be quite difficult at the moment. He wanted to tell Yuuri all about how much he wanted to do stuff like this with him, but they were caught in his throat as all he could do was watch him. He shivered at feeling those hands of his slid his pants down to his ankles, leaving him in only his briefs with a _very_ obvious bulge poking up in them. The look Yuuri shot him reminded Victor of some playful incubus in the middle of seducing their victim. It was a sort of playful, predatory look, something he wasn't used to seeing from Yuuri.

"My, Victor, you've grown quite large in those briefs. They look ready to burst," Yuuri giggled and lightly began to palm it.

Victor bit down on his lip hard but couldn't help the little moan that escaped, grabbing onto Yuuri's hair a bit tighter. It probably partly because of the drinks that his skin felt oversensitive to every little touch, but Yuuri's demeanor made him feel like he absolutely needed Yuuri to touch him more.

"Y-Yuuri..please," he quietly begged.

There was that sharp gaze again, looking right at him with a dubious grin. It seemed the bit of begging was only increasing the hold Yuuri had over him.

"Like this, Vitya?"

He promptly opened his mouth and placed it on top of the bulge in his briefs, sucking at it through the fabric. Those dark eyes looked up at Victor provocatively as if daring him to do something about the teasing. When Yuuri started to use his tongue is when Victor really started to lose it. It ran slowly up and down the clothed erection sending little pulses of pleasure through him.

"Heh, Y-Yuuri..please have mercy," he groaned, needing more contact that the other wasn't giving him.

"Patience," Yuuri whispered, wagging a finger at him before going back to it.

He absolutely loved hearing the little whines and begging. This is what he always loved about this was the power he had when he had someone's cock in his mouth. He had complete power over them, and it was no different with Victor. He was usually a man brimming with confidence, but right now, he was at Yuuri's mercy. Once Yuuri was satisfied with how whiny he was getting, he finally slipped his cock out of his briefs, running his hot tongue up the underside of the stiff, flushed cock. That earned him more gratifying moans as he swirled his tongue around the sensitive head, teasingly poking at the slit. He smirked when Victor's hands grabbed onto his hair, needing something to help hold himself up.

"Y-Yuuri…fuck.." Victor muttered, beginning to pant and sweat because of that mouth of his.

It was like Yuuri knew exactly what to do to make him cry out his name. This was the exact kind of setting that Victor wanted to do something like this in: a private hotel room, emphasis on private. He always preferred to do intimate things with a lover in a private space.

He tilted his head back as a new, long, low moan came from him as Yuuri sank down on his cock, feeling the wet warmth of his mouth around his length. It was quite clear that he'd done this many times with such a trained mouth. He easily sank down all the way, taking all of Victor's cock into his mouth and throat. He stayed like this for a few minutes before pulling back up, sucking as hard as he could and got into a steadily increasing rhythm of bobbing his head up and down his cock. Hearing a few slurping sounds and seeing how Yuuri's mouth fit around him was enough to drive Victor over the edge, but he tried to keep himself in the moment and last as long as he possibly could.

"Look what you do to me, Yuuri," he muttered.

The grip in his hair tightened as Yuuri expertly and slowly brought him closer and closer to the edge. Victor's hazy eyes looked toward the ceiling as his hips slightly rocked into his mouth. With a firm grip, Yuuri placed his hands onto Victor's hips, holding them steady as he aimed to finish Victor off with the biggest orgasm of his life. He listened closely to the way he breathed and how his muscles reacted to know when he was getting close. When he felt he was right there, Yuuri purposefully slowed down, aiming to edge him a bit. For Victor, the feeling was painstaking. He wanted so desperately to release. His body was aching for it.

"Y-Yuuri..please..please let me.." he muttered in airy whispers.

It's not like he wanted this to stop, but he didn't know how much he could stand this edging. It was a technique he often used on himself, but now Yuuri was just being cruel. Yuuri's lips upturned into a smirk before sucking and bobbing as hard as he could, letting Victor cum. It didn't take long, only a few seconds, before Victor cried out desperately as sweet waves of pleasure hit him like a train, and he came hard into Yuuri's mouth. Yuuri took all he had like an expert before pulling his mouth off of him, smirking up at Victor and licking his lips.

"My, Vitya, you had a lot to give," he teased and helped the Russian onto the bed.

He didn't both much with clothes right now, keeping Victor in his unbuttoned shirt and briefs. Yuuri simply took off his pants, leaving his tank top and boxers on. He cuddled up to Victor, snuggling into his chest like a cat as he lay there quite content.

"Did you enjoy that?" he asked.

He knew by the sounds the other had been making that he most likely did but still, he wanted to make sure.

"Oh, Yuuri, you sucked the life right out of me," he chuckled weakly. "But yeah, I really did enjoy it."

He noticed a little bulge in Yuuri's boxers and realized that Yuuri hadn't gotten off yet, and he moved a hand down, slipping past the elastic band of his boxers and began to lazily stroke his length.

"Victor, you don't have to. I know you're probably tired," Yuuri muttered but softly purred at the feeling.

"Nonsense, you sucked me off so wonderfully, I should get you off too before we fall asleep."

Once he had gotten Yuuri off, the two quickly fell asleep like that, cuddled up to each other and enjoying the shared warmth. Yuuri enjoyed the rest and relaxation while he still could. Checking in and warming up for the competition started tomorrow, meaning their schedule would be a lot more hectic, but he was glad they got to enjoy themselves now because things like this probably wouldn't happen until after the competitions.


	14. Chapter 14

Yuuri woke up with ruddy cheeks, feeling warm all over as he peeked up from the covers draped over him. Instinctively, he reached over to feel for Victor only to find a slightly warm, empty spot next to him. He groaned as he slowly opened his eyes to find where he went. He looked towards the bathroom when he heard the sink going along with Victor humming. The other man was leaning over the sink, face coated with shaving cream as he was running a razor up his face. Yuuri was about to call for him but stopped as he saw Victor was still completely nude. He found himself licking his lips as his eyes travelled down his back, drinking in all of Victor. He really did have a beautiful back, the way it gracefully curved in the middle, making him look like some elegant work of art. That pale skin was like a fair marble, smooth and beautiful. He always thought of Victor as a work of art that only he could touch. The graceful curve of his spine led Yuuri's eyes down to his firm ass, and even for it being early in the morning still, he felt a tiny pulse of arousal just watching him.

"Um, good morning, Victor," he said from the bed, letting the covers fall off of him so they were only covering his ass, though just barely.

Victor looked over from where he was currently shaving. His friendly smile turned into a little smirk as his eyes glanced over Yuuri's body.

"Why, good morning, Yuuri. Sorry, did I wake you up?" he asked as he finished up shaving and started to rinse his face off then patted some aftershave on.

"No, I just woke up, but I could really use some attention, Vitya~" He rolled over onto his back, showing off his front in the bit of light shining through the curtains, the comforter barely covering his crotch.

"Still feeling frisky, are we? Was last night not enough?" Victor teased, looking back over to the mirror in an attempt to hide how red his face became just now.

"Well, we are new lovers, aren't we? You'll find that being a lover to a dancer like me is a full-time job. Plus, we've barely made out for very long. I wanna do that," Yuuri said while touching his own lips.

They had only really kissed a few times, and now Yuuri had up and sucked his cock last night. He wanted to indulge himself in Victor and that work of art body of his. He wanted to feel the smoothness of that marble like skin with his own fingers and follow the curve of his spine with them. They had been so busy with this upcoming competition, he had barely gotten a chance to try touching Victor besides last night, and he wanted a bit of indulgence while he still could.

"Alright, alright, just let me finish up in here, and I'll be back in bed in a minute," he said as he washed his face up.

Victor was a bit excited himself for some casual making out with Yuuri. They hadn't really done something like that yet, and Yuuri being the one to suggest it only excited him more. He washed his face as quick as he could, feeling nice and refreshed as he walked back over to the bed, lying next to Yuuri. He teasingly pushed his leg up so the thigh hid his crotch like he was posing in the nude for a photograph.

"Hey, Yuuri, you should totally take a picture of me right now for Instagram. People will love it!"

"What? I'm not posting a picture of you like that!" Yuuri lost his sexy demeanor temporarily from that, face going red with embarrassment.

"Why not? What better way to let the world know that Victor Nikiforov is taken. Besides, my thigh is covering up the parts you can't show."

Staring into Victor's puppy dog eyes, Yuuri finally conceded and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. It was a bit dark still, and he didn't think it was best to use the flash, so he opened the curtains a bit more to let more light in. The bright sunlight spread over Victor's body, making his skin shine a bit. Yuuri gulped as he drank the expanse of milky white skin in. He was absolutely beautiful as his head rested lazily on his arm. His silvery bangs splayed out on that arm as he combed his fingers through his hair. With shaky hands, he unlocked his phone and opened the camera app.

"Heh, I don't think you'll even need a filter for this one. The lighting is perfect," Yuuri said as he held the phone steady and positioned it to take just the right picture. He ended up taking about five using different angles and such. Once he was done, Victor excitedly got up, wanting to see all of them. He picked the first one Yuuri had taken.

"Ooh! Post this one!" he chirped, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Alright, alright," Yuuri chuckled.

With a shaky finger, he opened Instagram and selected the first one, deciding to go with no filter. It didn't need it.

"Um, should I write a caption?" he asked shyly, giving Victor the phone. He was far too embarrassed to post it himself.

Victor nodded and finished it up for him, writing "Guess who got a boyfriend?" and tagged himself in it, wearing a tiny smirk as he added a few tags then hit the check mark to post it.

"All posted!" he announced proudly, handing the phone back to Yuuri.

"Yeah, I'm not going to look at that for a while. I'm sure it'll get more than enough attention," he chuckled and locked it again, placing it back on the nightstand. "Now, where were we?"

The charisma he had earlier had diminished some due to the embarrassing post, but he tried his best to be all sexy like he was before. Yuuri crept closer to him, wrapping an arm around Victor to rest on the small of his back. His eyes fluttered shut as he gently pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss while rubbing his fingers along his spine with a feather like touch. Yuuri could smell the strong scent of aftershave all over Victor's face as they kissed. Usually, Yuuri would be jittery and extremely nervous since this is one of the few times they've actually made out, but Yuuri felt calm and sure as they pressed against each other. Victor must've put on lip balm while he was in the bathroom. His lips felt plump and smooth as they went into the rhythm of pushing together, lingering, pulling away, and pushing together again. It was like the rhythm of the ocean waves as they crash and pull away from the shore over and over again. Something in the smell of Victor and the aftershave reminded Yuuri of the freshness of the ocean, like the ocean by Hasetsu. He couldn't seem to get enough of it, tightening his grip on Victor and opening his mouth to let more of him in. As his hands alternated from grabbing and ghosting over his skin and his mouth exploring Victor's, he felt like he was mapping him out, noting places that he liked to be touched, given by a small moan or an automatic pull towards Yuuri's touch. In turn, Victor did the same with Yuuri, though his hands mostly wandered through his hair, getting a bit daring as one slid down the gentle curves of Yuuri's side to rest on his rump, gently squeezing and feeling the plush skin there. They only paused for a few seconds to breathe, which to each of them felt like a lifetime as they longed to be clasped together again, but having lungs made that quite difficult. Yuuri gradually opened himself more to Victor, slowly opening his mouth to let more of him in, craving to taste more, almost needing to. Victor kept the pace slow, tantalizing, and gentle as he introduced a bit of his tongue into the kisses. Yuuri felt a shudder of heat course through him at tasting Victor's warm, wet tongue slide past his. It was strange, sure, but Yuuri found it to be very erotic. He mimicked Victor, sliding his tongue past his as his mouth opened for another kiss in the usual rhythm. Yuuri wasn't exactly sure how long they had been doing this, but the gentle make out session was brought to a sudden hault when Yuuri's phone suddenly went off, causing him to jump and pull away from Victor. Both just stared at each other, chests gently heaving up and down as they breathed.

"Um, you better answer that. It might be Minako," Victor said in a husky voice as he regained his breath.

Yuuri nodded, still rather dazed as he rolled over to the nightstand and picked up the phone.

"Um, hello? Minako-sensei?"

"You love birds better get down here! I'm here to take you to the competition for warming up." She sounded enthusiastic as always.

"Oh, yeah, we'll be right down. See ya."

"Well, the moment was nice while it lasted," Victor chuckled and got himself up and on his feet. He decided to wear a nice button up shirt, dark pants, and shoes, going to the bathroom to fix up his hair.

With a sigh, Yuuri went over to his suitcase and took out the spandex shorts that were black with a shimmery pattern to them, slipping those on then wearing warm up pants and a t-shirt over that. He packed a smaller duffel with things he'd need like backup spandex, a water bottle, extra clothes, chalk powder, and hair gel, along with anything else he'd need. He quickly got ready in the bathroom before walking out nice and refreshed. His lips were still a bit full from what him and Victor were just doing.

"Alright, I think I'm ready. How about you?" He stood by the door, waiting for Victor.

The Russian soon joined him with his usual happy smile.

"Ready. Let's get you over there, yeah?"

The complex was already crowded with people and athletes either coming in for the warm ups and practice time or people wanting to stake out a seat early. Yuuri prayed that no one he knew was here watching. Of course, this was televised and going to be streamed online, so it was more than just the people here who would see him. No doubt, it would attract the attention of those who knew him in the skating world. He hoped Chris was the only one he knew that would be in the international one that he would hopefully place high enough to move onto. Through Victor and Minako, they managed to get a private practice room for Yuuri. One wall was lined floor to ceiling with mirrors with a pole in the middle of the room.

"Feel free to do your usual warm up, Yuuri," Minako said as she dug through her bag once she placed it on the bench.

Victor took a seat there, watching Yuuri with intrigue. Slowly, Yuuri was becoming less and less embarrassed doing this sort of thing in front of Victor, but still, it wasn't the most comfortable thing to do with those blue eyes right on him. He kept the pants and shirt on as he went through his usual warm up stretches, sitting so his legs were spread out on the floor, stretching to each toe then back towards the pole behind him. Once he felt pretty loose and warmed up, he slid the warm up pants off, leaving him in his spandex and t-shirt. For now, he chose to leave the shirt on, knowing it would have to come off for the actual competition. With as much grace as usual, he hooked his thighs around the pole, holding himself there with that grip, using that and his upper body strength to pull himself higher up on the pole. He warmed up with a few basic moves, familiarizing himself with the pole once again as he usually did before a performance or in Minako's studio.

"Alright, Yuuri. From the top," Minako said once he seemed to be moving rather smoothly.

Yuuri moved into the starting position, waiting for the music to start. As the beginning played, he closed his eyes, listening to it closely as he always did and lost himself with the music, letting his body move as it remembered with its muscle memory. This was Yuuri's secret weapon. He let his body move with the music as it would.


	15. Chapter 15

Yuuri gulped as he walked with Victor and Minako to the main stage. He had been fine in the practice room, but still, that was just in front of Victor and Minako. This was the main stage, and when it was Yuuri's turn, he'd be center stage and all eyes would be on him. This was a much larger audience than even at the club. Yuuri could already feel the pressure building as they took their seats by the stage. He was going third, so he'd head towards the back after the first performer.

His breath hitched as the applause started, making Yuuri nearly jump out of his seat.

"Better get back there, Yuuri." Victor's voice suddenly broke through the haze, and he looked over at him with a little nod.

"R-right..I better."

He let Victor basically lead him back there. Trying his best to calm down, he kept taking deep breaths, but they didn't seem to be helping. His hands were even visibly shaking as he shed his warm up clothes off, leaving him in just his sparkly black spandex. Victor seemed to pick up on this right away because the other placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yuuri, don't think about how many people are out there and your performance. Just look at me right now, okay?" he spoke softly as if he didn't want to scare Yuuri.

Yuuri did as he said, looking up at Victor. The touch did help some. It steadied him at least, but it didn't help the fact that he felt slightly numb, and he hoped he could at least grip onto the pole right.

"I-I'm fine, Victor. I should get ready to go out there. The next performer will be done any minute," he said, voice shaking slightly as he looked over in that direction.

A bit of light from the spotlights shone in through the crack from the curtains, and Yuuri gulped when he could hear the crowd through the blaring music.

"Yuuri," Victor said even more softly and cupped Yuuri's cheek, turning his head to look at him again. "Don't worry about anyone else. When you perform, just look at me just like at the club. Pretend you're doing a private show for me."

"A private show..for you.." he repeated.

His eyes darted off to the side, a bit unsure about the idea. Could he really solely focus on Victor and Victor alone? That seemed almost impossible, although, Victor was rather easy to spot in a room, and he'd be right up front.

"Alright..I'll try," Yuuri finally answered and jumped when they called for him next.

Before he could move, Victor suddenly leaned in and planted a tender kiss on his lips and smirked before sending him off to the stage, being sure to take his glasses off before he left.

"You better seduce me!" he called before going back to his seat.

With the little pep talk, Yuuri could at least walk to the pole without much trouble, though his legs still felt like jelly. The roar of the applause alone was enough to make him feel extremely small, but he still walked up to the pole with as much confidence as he could show, wrapping his leg around it for the starting position. His eyes easily found Victor, and he made them stay there as he readied himself to perform.

"Ladies and gentlemen, from Hasetsu of Kyushu, Japan, Yuuri Katsuki."

Yuuri was thankful for the kind of relationship his body and music had. As soon as the music started, he let his body move however it will while never taking his eyes off of Victor. In his head, he kept repeating over and over that he was performing of Victor and him alone. His hips moved fluidly with the beat as he worked the pole like he had been born just for that purpose. He didn't even remember half of what he did or how it went once it was over. Before he knew it, he was in his ending pose of him straddling the pole, and the music slowly faded out. The roar of applause and hoots from the audience is what snapped him out of it. With shaky limbs, he slid down and got back on his feet, doing a little bow before quickly walking over to backstage. He was surprised to see Victor already there, holding his clothes out to him. He really could move fast. Yuuri didn't even remember seeing him leave the seat, of course, he was a bit preoccupied from the applause. He hadn't expected it to be that big.

"That was beautiful, Yuuri. You really did enthrall them all, me included. I think it's the way your body moves with the music as if it's second nature."

Yuuri said a quiet "thank you" and slipped on the warm up pants then the t-shirt as well as his glasses. He accepted the small towel to wipe off his face then a good few gulps from his water bottle. With an arm around Yuuri's shoulder, Victor led him back over to his seat. Yuuri was thankful to sit down again. His legs still felt like jelly after the performance, and he feared he was going to collapse right there on stage. He only grew more anxious as the other performers went. He thought they were all so good, and he wasn't even completely sure how well he did, but judging from the audience's reaction, it must've been pretty good. He took deep breaths once the judges had announced that the scores were calculated, and they were about to call up the rankings. He had to at least make fourth to move onto the international one. He was definitely not counting on winning first. He'd be just fine with getting third or fourth. It was when his name was called first, and there was a huge reaction from the audience along with Victor and Minako. He barely even heard what was said, but soon, he was basically being pushed up onto stage where a woman approached him with a gold medal, placing it on him and had him stand on the top spot on the podium. Yuuri looked like a deer in the headlights. He'd really won first? His performance really was better than he expected. After the medals were handed out, Yuuri tried to shake himself out of the daze as other competitors approached to shake his hand.

"Oh, ah, thank you. You did great as well," he said with his usual warm smile.

He nearly fell over as someone suddenly hugged him from behind, though he could probably take a guess on who it was.

"Yuuri! You did so well! How do you feel, winning gold and moving onto the international competition?" Victor asked by his ear, sending shivers down Yuuri's spine.

"Um, good, I guess? In all honesty, I pretty much zoned out during my performance, so this was..a really big surprise. Sorry, if I still seem like I'm daydreaming."

"That doesn't matter now. You won!"

"Nice work, Yuuri. I knew you'd sweep the competition away." Minako flashed him a thumbs up as she walked over to him and Victor.

"Oh, thanks, Minako-sensei. It's all thanks to you really. You taught me everything I know."

"You know, you should open your dance studio up for pole dancing lessons too. You are rather good at teaching it," Victor added, still hanging onto Yuuri.

"Oh, stop it, you two. But flattery will get you everywhere. Now, we should go celebrate, shouldn't we? Sakes on me!"

Of course, Victor whole heartedly agreed, and soon, Yuuri was being dragged off to a bar again, but he wore a little smile as he held hands with Victor and followed after him and Minako. As usual, Yuuri stuck to a strict one cup of sake only for him. He knew things got out of hand when he drank too much, and he'd rather not have any mishaps happen. When they were back in the room, he couldn't stop staring at the gold medal, holding it in his hands as he sat on the edge of the bed. He couldn't recall the last time he actually won gold in something, and it made his heart flutter a bit just to look at it.

"I know you don't remember it very clearly, but you definitely deserve that medal. Your performance was amazing," Victor said with a bit of a hiccup.

He had drunk almost a whole bottle of sake, and Yuuri could tell he was tipsy by the rosy tint to his cheeks.

"Thank you again. I still can't believe I actually won first, though I suppose the international one is going to be much more of a challenge. Chris is going to be in it, and who knows what he has up his sleeve."

Yuuri stood up and steadied Victor, seeing how wobbly he was when he walked and helped him over to the bed.

"You know, you really need to learn some self control, party boy," he chuckled.

He helped him out of his clothes since Victor asked, leaving him in his briefs and tucked him into bed.

"I'm not going to fool around with you when you're this drunk. It's time for bed."

He humored Victor with a few kisses but ordered him to lie down. As he pet Victor's head, his phone suddenly went off, and he grinned when he saw it was Phichit calling him. He continued to soothingly pet Victor to help him go to sleep as he answered the phone.

"Hi, Phichit! Oh, y-you watched my performance, really? Did you really share it on all your social media..haha you didn't have to do that. Th-thank you! I've been told it was a rather bewitching performance."

He talked for a bit more before yawning loudly and having to say goodbye so he could go to sleep. Victor was already out by the time he hung up. Plugging his phone in to charge for the night, he slipped out of his clothes, leaving his boxers on as he got into bed next to Victor. He took the time to admire the other man for a few minutes, moving a few of his bangs out of his face. He was just as beautiful as he was when he was awake, maybe even more so when he was asleep like this.

"Goodnight, Victor. Thank you for everything," he whispered, taking his glasses off and quickly falling asleep himself.

He wasn't sure what to expect in the international competition besides Chris being there, but if he could do even better than he did at this one, maybe he had a real chance.


	16. Chapter 16

_Hmm..wonder what tea I should get…_

Yuuri was currently standing in line at a café, pondering what bubble tea he should get. Victor had gone off with Minako to scope out the venue where the world championships would take place, so Yuuri figured this would be a good way to pass the time. The World Championships were also in Tokyo but a different part, so they had to move to a different hotel. Things were going rather peacefully for him so far, not running into any unpleasant company or anything. He finally decided which one he wanted and was second to go when he nearly screeched right in the café as he felt someone cup his butt from behind. He quickly whipped around to see who was groping him, sighing when it was Chris.

"Chris, you shouldn't just grope people in public especially if they don't want it," he frowned.

"Aww, Yuuri, you're no fun. I thought we were friends." He playfully winked and indicated that Yuuri was up next.

Yuuri huffed in a pout and tried to calm himself down as he walked up to the counter and ordered the bubble tea he wanted, going over to the pickup counter to wait. Chris was soon after him, smirking as he bumped his side.

"I suppose I should've expected to see you around here. Are you ready for tomorrow?" Yuuri asked with a shy smile, walking up to the counter when his name was called.

"Always am, though I'm very curious to see what your routine will be like. I'm well known to be a seductor on the pole, but I've heard that yours is quite sexy as well."

Chris motioned to a table by the window, inviting Yuuri to sit down with him. Yuuri nodded and took the seat across from him. He sipped on his bubble tea while absent mindingly staring out the window only to be brought back when Chris spoke up.

"So, I've been wondering. Besides all this pole dancing stuff, will I have the pleasure of competing against you this season in figure skating? Who knows what Victor's doing. He didn't really say much on his plans for this upcoming season," Chris said as he sipped on his coffee, giving Yuuri a curious look.

"Well, if I can find a coach then..maybe. I just have to find the right person that can work with me," he said, glancing down at the table.

He had suffered a major loss before in figure skating, resulting in him falling into a slump. From then, he hadn't thought much about figure skating, concentrating mostly on helping his family with money by working at the club.

"Things have been kind of hard since the last Grand Prix Final. Money's been tight. I'm not sure if I could even afford a coach, but hey, maybe placing highly in World Pole Championship will help," he said, trying to be optimistic.

"I see. I'm sorry to hear about that, Yuuri. I hope you're able to get a coach. I'd love to skate against you, but for now, we're pole dancing against each other. So, may the best dancer win?" He extended a hand out to Yuuri with his usual whimsical smile.

"May the best dancer win," Yuuri chuckled and firmly shook Chris' hand.

Yuuri actually found himself laughing and smiling as he walked down the street with Chris back to the hotel, which he was also staying at. The man seemed to have a talent to make anyone laugh. Yuuri felt in a much better mood as he continued to sip on his bubble tea.

"Has Victor told you about what happened at the banquet after the final?" Chris asked slyly, a little glint in his eyes.

"Uh, y-yeah. How I drunkenly danced with him and pole danced and such," he said, nearly choking on a bubble from the tea.

"Remembering when I pole danced with you at that banquet is what makes me excited to compete against you tomorrow. You recall we both pole danced in there, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I definitely remember. I remember how good you were at it like that trick you did with the champagne. That was amazing!"

Yuuri was slowly reeling back from total embarrassment to the little bantering conversation.

"I can teach you that if you want. It is a more advanced move, but I think you could do it."

Yuuri blushed a bit at his stare. He knew Chris was going to be a tough competitor, as he always was, but he never expected him to actually expected him to offer to teach him a few moves and advanced ones at that.

"I-I'd love that..actually," he finally said with a shy nod.

"They have their practice rooms open tonight until about twenty in the evening. Do you want to meet me there at 17:00? In fact, let's trade phone numbers. I'll text you the room to meet in."

The only other skater Yuuri had gotten close with was Phichit, whom he usually texted and face timed daily. Befriending another skater could be a good thing.

"Sure," he nodded and stopped on the side to swap phones with him to put in himself in as a contact on Chris' phone. "There! I'm in there now."

Yuuri actually felt a bit excited to have someone new in his phone he could talk to. He spent the rest of the walk talking about pole dancing techniques, smiling and laughing. He looked forward when he saw a familiar head of silvery hair. Seeing Victor by the entrance to the lobby, he waved and gestured to Chris with a wide smile on his face. It could've just been a trick of the light, but he could've sworn he saw just a hint of jealousy in his face before it went to his usual congenial smile.

"Hey, Yuuri! Chris!" He waved back.

The three spent some time chatting in the lounge. Victor and Chris discussed skating a bit with Victor giving a bit of a vague answer as to whether he was returning to the ice this season. They went on until it was time for Yuuri and Victor to head out for an early dinner.

"I'll meet you there at 17:00, Chris!" Yuuri called as he followed after Victor.

Victor chose a nice ramen place for them to dine, and Yuuri took the seat next to him. He could always eat ramen and picked one of his favorites, helping Victor pick one out too. Yuuri smiled up at Victor as he ate his ramen, enjoying the flavors and the warmth. It felt good to eat something so filling, and it made him feel all warm and happy.

"You're..rather cute when you eat like that..all smiling and happy," Victor said, cheeks dabbled with a light blush.

"O-oh? You think so?" Yuuri's face turned bright red as he swallowed the rest of the ramen.

He still wasn't sure why Victor just saying simple things like that could throw him off. Someone like Chris could say something similar, and sure, it'd make him embarrassed, but he'd manage some sort of come back or something else to say. When Victor said it in that smooth Russian voice close to him, it rendered Yuuri into a blushing mess, barely able to say something back.

"I know so. So…what are you meeting up Chris for this evening?" he asked curiously, trying to make it seem nonchalant.

"Oh! We're just meeting up at the facility where the world championships are being held tomorrow. I'm going to meet him at a practice room with a pole. He's going to teach me some more advanced moves," Yuuri said and continued eating.

When he looked back over, Victor still had a somewhat inquisitive look on his face.

"What? That's all I swear. It's not some romantic rendezvous. It's just Chris."

A little smirk crossed his face at the idea of Victor being jealous. He should know by now that he was the only one Yuuri felt strongly for. After all, he had idolized him ever since he was a kid. Victor looked at him with those piercing blue eyes for a few more moments before returning to his own food, nodding to himself. He trusted Yuuri.

"Well, I hope you and Chris have fun with that."

"I'm sure we will. I shouldn't be gone too long since the place closes three hours after we're meeting there. Besides, I need to spend some time with you the night before the competition, right?" Yuuri wore a coy smile as he wiped a bit of the broth from Victor's lips with his thumb.

Even though he got easily flustered around Victor, he could manage a move to fluster Victor right back from time to time, and the look on the other's face was always worth it. Victor looked back at him with wide eyes, touching his own lips where Yuuri's thumb had just been.

"R-right! I'll be eagerly awaiting you."

Afterwards, Yuuri stopped by the room to change into his spandex shorts and a t-shirt, wearing warm up pants over them and got his duffel before heading out to meet up with Chris. He waved to Victor and blew him a kiss, wearing his seductive smile before heading out the door.

"I'm in practice room 105." His phone vibrated with a text from Chris.

Once inside the building, Yuuri found his way to the indicated room through the fluorescent lit hallways. Seems him and Chris weren't the only ones with the same idea. He spied several other dancers roaming the halls and going into practice rooms.

"Chris, I'm here!" His words caught in his throat as he saw Chris, only wearing some very short shorts and hanging off the pole waiting for him.

"Yuuri! It's about time you showed up. Ready?"

"Um, as ready as I'll ever be," he chuckled nervously and slipped off his warm up pants as he went to place his duffel off to the side.

He prayed he was ready for this. Knowing Chris, he always had surprises in store.


	17. Chapter 17

Yuuri's face turned nearly completely red as he walked into the room with a "Hi, Chris" and found the man just in his spandex shorts hanging off of the pole.

"It's about time you got here," he teased and spun down.

"Chris, seriously, please warn me first," Yuuri groaned and set his bag down.

"Sorry, forgot how easily excitable you are."

Yuuri stripped his warm up pants off so he was down to his black and silver spandex but kept his tank top on in modesty. He wasn't as show offy and confident in it like Chris and Victor were, except when he had to be in competitions. This was an international one coming up tomorrow, and he'd have to be stepping up his game to compete with the others and Chris of course.

"Alright, Chris, teach me your secrets," he teased back and stood by the pole, waiting for what the other was going to do.

Chris went through a few of the advanced moves he knew, spinning gracefully on the pole like it was nothing. It almost looked like second nature to him, and Yuuri watched with amazement. It's not like Yuuri was bad at pole dancing, quite the opposite, but it was the attention to technique and detail in the way Chris moved that got Yuuri thinking of his own techniques. At one point, Yuuri was rather sure that Chris was only holding himself to the pole with one foot, using the momentum to spin and do all sorts of crazy tricks.

"Geez, Chris. How am I supposed to compete with you?" he laughed weakly as Chris hopped off of the pole, wiped it down, and motioned for Yuuri to give it a try.

"Oh, I don't know. I've seen a few videos of you, and I have to say, you're a force to be reckoned with. When you get into that mind set of yours, there's no stopping you."

Yuuri only gave a weak nod and climbed up onto the pole so he had some height. He started with just some warming up moves, getting a good grip on it with his thighs. He showed Chris a few of his own signature techniques. Most of these involved the power he had with his thighs, which one could easily say could crush a skull between them with ease. He barely had to use his hands to hold on, letting his thighs do the work as he spun around effortlessly and hung upside down. After he was used to the feel once again, he attempted a few of the moves that Chris had showed him. After a few tries, he was able to get the side spin down, which involved using one leg and completely holding himself up horizontally. It was damn tough but doable. There was a soft applause from Chris, giving Yuuri a whistle.

"Wow, you picked that up fast. I'm impressed."

Yuuri let out a soft "thanks" as he slid down. He wiped his face off with a towel and took a few good gulps from his water bottle before turning back to the pole.

"I mean, there's room for improvement for any dancer, but I'd say you have as many skills as would be expected of a dancer in this competition. Perhaps we could touch on points in your routine that you think could be improved a bit."

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea. I'm down to try it."

For the next hour or so, Yuuri worked with Chris, starting by doing his whole routine and pin pointing spots to put improvements into. Yuuri did find that a few spots in his routine did tighten up some and were more fluid. Yuuri did the same for Chris. He hadn't actually watched his routine yet, but Chris being Chris, he made it practically leaking with sex appeal.

"Geez, you put in about as much sex appeal as I was expecting," he chuckled and noted a few spots to work on. "This is kinda cool. It's like we're acting as each other's coaches but we're also competitors."

"Well, after that pole dancing escapade at the last Grand Prix banquet, I've found a sort of odd friendship with you, though you probably don't remember much of that, right?" Chris asked as he leaned against the pole with a coy look.

"I'm remembering bits and pieces of it thanks to Victor. Who knew that I automatically go to pole dancing when I'm drunk," he sighed and gave him a look but with a smirk of sorts. "I do recall us dancing on the same pole. Maybe someday we should consider doing a paired routine at the next pole championships."

"Wow, didn't expect such a sassy reply like that," Chris said with a whistle. "I can see why Victor adores you so. You have some spunk."

Yuuri was soon back to being a blushing mess and muttering a "thanks" as he tried to get a hold of himself.

"So, Chris, I was wondering..have you and Victor been friends for a while? You seem to know each other pretty well, and I know you guys have been competitors in skating for a while now," Yuuri asked, deciding to sit down and take a bit of a break, sipping on his water bottle.

"Victor and I? Yeah, I'd say he's one of my good friends. Why do you ask?"

"Well, um, I don't wanna sound like some jealous new boyfriend who's wondering about his significant other's past relationships but..yeah..um, were you and Victor more than friends at one point? You guys seem to have a kind of vibe like that. Victor even seemed a bit..jealous I guess..that I was hanging out with you tonight."

Chris' usual intrigued look took on that of even more intrigue, wearing a sly smirk. The man never seemed phased by anything or at least he could make it look that way.

"No worries. It's only natural to be wondering about stuff like that. Victor and I did..do things, but it was mostly a casual sort of thing. It's just something we used to do from time to time as friends. You have nothing to worry about. I'm just glad he's finally found someone," he said with a wink and lazily spun around the pole. "I can tell he's very happy when he's around you."

Yuuri stared up at Chris with wide eyes. That almost sounded poetic in a way. It definitely wasn't an answer he had been expecting. He half expected Chris to be some jealous ex-boyfriend or something of the like.

"Well, I'll try my best. He certainly makes me very happy, so I'd hope that I make him happy too."

God, that didn't sound nearly as poetic as the way Chris put it, but whatever, it'll do. He was actually quite amazed at the concept of a casual relationship, though Victor and Chris were both rather handsome and good looking. It was only natural for them to do stuff like that and try things with each other, which made Yuuri blush just thinking about it. Yuuri certainly believed that he didn't have the looks for stuff like that. The blush only intensified when he started thinking about him, Victor…and maybe even Chris but immediately pushed that out of his mind out of sheer embarrassment even though he knew Chris couldn't read his thoughts. He filed that away for later and turned his attention back to Chris.

"Okay, I'm still feeling energetic. Let's practice some more," he chirped with his usual little grin.

Both of them had sweat dripping from their chins and out of breath by the time they were done and were sitting on the floor, catching their breath…from pole dancing of course.

"I have to say, Yuuri, you're a hard one to keep of with. I think that stamina of yours is your secret weapon. It doesn't matter what crazy moves me or other competitors can pull, you can just keep going. And yes, I know that sounded like an innuendo."

Yuuri nodded and chuckled in response, still taking deep breaths to slow his heart beat. About ten minutes later, they both had their things packed up and were ready to head out. Chris extended his hand out to Yuuri and shook his hand.

"Good luck tomorrow, Yuuri, and I hope to compete against you again in figure skating if you choose to this coming season. I'd love to see you on the ice again."

"Thanks, good luck to you too. We'll see, but I'm hoping to. Bye, Chris!"

They waved to each other, and soon, Yuuri was heading back to the hotel, deciding to jog a bit on the way. He did feel a bit better after practicing with Chris and talking a bit too. The guy could be quite over bearing at times, but he was a good friend to talk to as well. On the way, Yuuri sent Victor a text that he was on his way back, a little smile plastered on his face as he looked forward to tomorrow.


End file.
